Yes
by Juni Onigiri
Summary: There's nothing quite like a first love that cannot love you back. This is a collection of loosely related one-shots about the students of 1A dealing with unrequited love, which begins when people start to notice that Midoriya Izuku might be falling for Todoroki Shouto.
1. I Guess You Didn't Know

**Yes  
Chapter 1: I Guess You Didn't Know**

The late afternoon sun filtered through the windows of room 1A, bathing everything in a light orange glow. Uraraka Ochako yawned unabashedly and hunched down further into her desk, desperately trying not to give in to the impulse for a power nap or to listen to the rumbling of her empty stomach or to ponder about how long the day that passed was.

Not that it was a bad day. Uraraka also fought the impulse to smile her dopey contented smile, too. It was a good day. A really good day.

Because of all the villainy that exploded in current society, UA pushed them even more in their combat classes. Aizawa-sensei, despite looking like on the verge of collapsing into a week-long coma with how exhausted he appeared, took extra time to pay attention to all of them individually. He had told Uraraka to polish her close combat skills even more, because with the conditions of her quirk, it certainly was a good idea for her to gain confidence in close combat. Deku-kun was nice enough to volunteer to be her sparring partner too, and Aizawa had him fly around the field and back at her to attack with his legs to build up his speed and endurance, which he could exploit in combat.

It was a good fight, and afterwards Uraraka heard him mumbling and expanding her character information page in his hero notebooks. When she teased him about his nerdiness and asked to see it, he told her sure, maybe she and Iida-kun would like to grab a bite to eat after classes, too, oh, and I'll treat you 'cos you kinda did a number on me back there.

She tried to refuse him, because she didn't really do a number on him, but he refused. She couldn't stop the flitting feeling erupt from her chest. It __wasn't__ a date, 'cause Iida's gonna be there, but Deku-kun's gonna treat __her__ , and they're gonna spend extra time together, which was always a good thing. Because even though she's always around Deku-kun-walking together from the dorms, walking together to Lunch Rush, walking together to class, walking together back to the dorms-it was always just __walking, talking, teasing and Iida-kun/Tsuyu-chan's always there too__ and Uraraka couldn't feel satisfied by just the same old safe tactics and watching his back get broader by the day.

 _ _Maybe today… maybe today I could let him know,__ she thought with some nervousness.

They were waiting for Iida-kun and Yaomomo to finish their class rep work for the day. She could only endure seeing so much of Iida's robotic-like hand gestures and Yaomomo's blinding perfection before her gaze naturally fell on Deku-kun's figure. His seat was close to the window, and he basked in the orange light, and Uraraka found herself a little hypnotized by the small movements of his natural green perm as his head bobbed from mumbling and writing down on his notebook.

Feeling eyes on him, he turned to look at her, with a tilt of his head. "Yes?" he asked with his usual innocent smile.

 _ _He is so freakin' cute it's unreal. This has to be an illegal use of a quirk.__

"What was that?"

 _ _Did I say that out loud?__ thought Ochako dumbly. She had trained so hard to suppress her blush, and she hoped that she was doing a proper job of it then. "Nothin'. You're mumblin' ta yerself again, as usual, Deku-kun. Even though hero classes are over," she said, forcing some disinterest in her voice.

He stammered bashfully, a blush starting to creep over both cheeks. That tended to happen a lot, especially those times when he caught her staring at him or getting too close, and thus Uraraka found it to be one of life's guilty pleasures. "I just-I mean, everybody worked so hard today, and everyone did a lot of neat things, so I'm trying to write them all down before I forget. I'm working hard on illustrations too, since the support team did a great job of modifying a lot of the costumes, and I wasn't able to get enough reference photos-"

From their spot at the back of the classroom, Iida-kun gave an enthusiastic, fierce nod. "Your tenacity and detail-orientedness is nothing to scoff at, Midoriya-kun. I commend you and your efforts."

"I'd like to see your notes one day as well, but only if you'll allow me, Midoriya-san," added Yaomomo, all grace and proper posture and Uraraka felt herself wither into an actual inferior being just listening to her speak.

Deku-kun blushed again, and Uraraka pouted just a little. Just the act of talking to girls was enough to drown his cute freckles in a sea of red and pink. Uraraka knew that it wasn't a maneuver that only she could do, and it kind of annoyed her to be honest.

"It-it-it's c-cool, I can show Yaoyorozu-san… w-well, not now… I'm k-kinda stuck at Kacchan's page, he did a lot of interesting things today but, but, he wouldn't tell me anything about his new power moves, or his costume upgrades, so I'm just really wishing that someone in class took a video of him so I could-"

While that was nothing new, Uraraka felt her pout deepen a little bit more. Deku-kun tended to stumble more on his words when he spoke to other girls, and she wasn't sure if this was a good sign or not. Maybe she should ask Tsuyu-chan about that later…

A familiar red-and-white form invaded a part of her vision, interrupting her thoughts. Todoroki must have entered the room some time ago, but as usual he was as silent as a ghost when he did so. A brief, but palpable beat of silence followed as everyone watched him walk to his desk to get his bag.

"Oh, Todoroki-san," said Yaomomo, instantly straightening from her seat. "You're still here."

He merely nodded at her effort to state the obvious. Everyone stayed silent, until he realized that people were waiting for him to explain himself, which took another beat of awkward silence. "Cleaning duty at Ground Gamma," he said simply before zipping up his bag and turning to leave.

"Oh…" someone in the room said, with the tiny hint of embarrassment that one tended to get when trying to converse with Todoroki and then realizing belatedly that he didn't feel like talking back. Uraraka could have sworn that Yaomomo's hair deflated slightly.

It was then that she caught Deku-kun staring down at his notebook __hard,__ in the way he tended to do when he tried to make up his mind, before nodding to himself and standing up so quickly he almost knocked his pencil case from his table. "Todoroki-kun!" he declared.

His bag already on one shoulder, Todoroki turned to face the green-haired boy, his usual blank stare locked on his face. Deku-kun must have seen something akin to affirmation in that stare (a wonder really, how he was able to determine that), because he already had his notebook and pencil out as he started babbling about their hero training earlier. "I was meaning to ask you- -you had a bunch of cool moves today- -there was that thing where you punched Sero-kun with a giant hand made of ice-"

"Ice fist."

"Oh! I see! And then you countered Ashido-san's acid spray with a giant flame, which caused that huge explosion-"

"Fire fist."

"And then that part when you countered Mineta-san's grape barrage with simultaneous fire and ice-"

"A Fist of Ice and Fire."

"That's great! Oh, and then, there was this thing you did where you…"

This exchange went on for some time, and Uraraka could only watch this in awe, because even though Todoroki barely kept a conversation going with his usual monotone and single-double word answers, she could see a shadow of a smile forming on his lips, and a hint of brightness in his otherwise stoic facade. Somehow Deku-kun was able to make him sit back down as they talked shop, and he patiently answered all of the green-haired otaku's questions one by one.

That's when Uraraka saw it-a tinge of pink dusting the tips of Deku's ears, an extra smile line over the fold of his mouth. She'd never seen this before-so far,girls have only succeeded in making him red up to the clavicle, and this tended to vary based on proximity. Besides that, a new thousand-megawatt bulb was lightening his already bright green eyes, so bright it was that it threatened to take over the sun filtering through the windows.

And those eyes… couldn't keep away from Todoroki's mismatched ones.

Something heavy, unpleasant, and potentially ugly began to rose from deep within Uraraka's chest.

"Wow, Todoroki-kun, aah, you're just really amazing!" Deku-kun scratched his head bashfully, and then realizing what came out of his mouth, stumbled over his next words, "I mean, your quirk. Your quirk is amazing. It's amazing how versatile and powerful it is, and-"

"Thank you." Todoroki nodded blankly, accepting the accidental stumbling of words without a second thought.

Like the all mighty All Might famously said… __Shiiiiit.__

Something must have changed in her demeanor, because she saw Iida-kun look up from their paperwork and then up at her in concern. Try as she might to suppress it, the ugly feeling that she now labeled as Dawning Realization continued to dawn in her chest. Not knowing what else to do except to look away from the blinding display of admiration and something else, she looked down on her fingers and played with her finger pads.

"You know, after this, Uraraka-san, Iida-kun and I are going out for ramen," she heard him say as she tuned in to their animated conversation once more. "I found a place within campus that's pretty good. You wanna come with?"

Todoroki must have gestured in the negative, because after that, Deku-kun said, "Oh, all right, maybe next time? Oh, I forgot, you're more of a soba guy, right? Maybe there's a good soba place nearby… I'll work on finding one."

 _ _Deku-kun, how could you?__ thought Uraraka, feeling more hollow by the second. __No… how could you, Todoroki-kun?__

"I prefer to make my own soba," came the usual stoic reply from the half-haired guy.

 _ _It was supposed to be me. I was going to confess today. To him! Me! It should be me he's looking at…__

"Okay, that's, that's great, great that you have your own tastes…"

Deku-kun was babbling now. He was so freakin' obvious, Uraraka wondered why she didn't notice it before. She sighed, with all her might, inside her head, and slapped both her cheeks to snap back to reality, also inside her head. "Come oooonnnn, Todoroki-kun! It'll be good to eat somethin' different once in a while, right? Too much soba will turn you into an old man before you know it. You should come with us!" she heard herself say, a bigger-than-normal grin over her mouth.

What the heck was she doing? Todoroki was now looking at her, that infuriating (… infuriating? Since when was this infuriating) blank stare unmoving from his infuriating __ikemen__ face. He seemed to mull it over for a while, before saying, "Next time. But not today. I'm tired."

Just hearing __next time__ was enough for Deku's disappointment to dissipate into thin air, as if it was a paper villain being punched by the hero Shouto's Fire Fist. It had a similar effect on Uraraka's insides, except all she wished for was to get A Fist of Ice and Fire right in the face so that she'd let go of all of this… this stupid jealous feelings or whatever. "Next time is okay too!" he said brightly.

"All right." As Todoroki stood up from his chair, Iida also stood up from the back seats, tapping a sheaf of papers loudly on his desk as he did so.

"We are also done with our paperwork!" he declared loudly, as if the classroom was as full and noisy as it was five minutes before homeroom. "And thus it is time for us to visit this ramen shop of yours, Midoriya-kun! Get ready as well, Uraraka-kun! Oh, and Todoroki-kun…"

Todoroki tilted his head curiously at Iida, as one robotic arm clamped itself on his shoulder.

"Please! Escort Yaoyorozu-kun back to the dorms as well."

At this, Yaomomo began to stammer something in embarrassment, but all Todoroki said was, "It's okay. Take your time, Yaoyorozu."

Yaomomo nodded and fixed her things in a hurry. Uraraka followed suit. Deku-kun, still bright and floaty, started packing his stuff as well. __It's not fair,__ Uraraka repeated in her head. __I didn't even use my quirk, and he might as well float into outer space right now…__

 _ _I could… never make him feel like that…__

They did go to the ramen place eventually, with her two favorite boys walking a safe pace in front of her, backs as broad and distant as ever, a safe flow of conversation flowing between them. There was a new light skip in the way Deku-kun stepped, and it was actually so cute that Uraraka wanted to cry.

Well, to be honest, she wanted to cry for other related reasons. But she didn't. Instead, she swallowed her would-be confession, along with the free noodles and soup and satisfying slices of __chashu__ that only contributed to the heaviness and burning and longing in her heart.

The ramen was good, at least.

* * *

 **AN:** I lost sleep over conceptualizing this series of stories. WTH is wrong with me lol.  
So first, about this series: The title is inspired by one of my most favourite Tagalog songs, "Oo" by Up Dharma Down. The chapters are badly translated fragments of the song lyrics care of moi lol. I know it's cheesy but I really wanted to write this out! I wrote the first three stories really quickly, and I have sixteen stories planned out so far. So I plan to update this three chapters at a time each weekend, with the finale probably taking me another week cos I want it to be the most dramabelles of them all. Haha hope I could do it~  
In any case, I hope you like the stories. They're loosely related because not all of it will revolve around Deku and Todoroki, but rather will show the butterfly effect that kinda happens after. My goal is to write in most of the 1A kids in this story. Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!


	2. I See You

**Yes  
Chapter 2: I See You**

About half the things that Ojirou Mashirao learned about Hagakure Tooru was from passively listening to whatever came tumbling out of her invisible mouth, which was a lot of things. Like how her quirk worked by bending light, so that her invisibility was merely an illusion and only worked on human retinas. Or how she liked typical, cute girly things like cafes and sweets and the color pink, and how she wished she could wear make-up, but couldn't, because no-one would think a disembodied, partially-painted floating face would be cute and girly. Also, how she was so nervous about not getting into UA because she was scared that people wouldn't notice her presence in the practical exam. Because, ya know, she was __invisible__ and all _ _.__

(Not noticing her presence wasn't a problem that Ojirou ever had. Not especially these past few weeks. But he digressed.)

A different, more concerning fact about Hagakure that Ojirou learned from patiently listening to her speak without stopping was that she had… distinct tastes in men. He remembered how she laughed at his look of disbelief when she first walked up to his desk and conspiratorially whispered to him about how __sexy__ Bakugou-kun looked, barely a week after freshman year started. It wasn't so much that she said 'Bakugou' and 'sexy' in the same sentence, but more because she said it so unabashedly to __him,__ a plain, forgettable boy she'd just met, who had no practical use for this information whatsoever.

When he stammered something that probably barely sounded like a high-pitched _'_ _ _are you sure you wanna talk about these types of things with me,'__ she just giggled and said, "It's 'cause I can trust you! I easily know what you're thinking by how your tail moves!"

And he'd blushed super hard then, because shortly after that, his betrayer of a tail shot up so quickly that it hit Kaminari, who was seated quietly behind him, right in the face.

Well, at least it served some good purpose, because the electric boy's snores stopped abruptly, and he heard the satisfied cackle of Ashido and Sero right behind him. This only made the invisible girl in front of him laugh more, a sound he'd decided he could live with more than Kaminari's annoyed grumbles.

Soon, without asking, the floating uniform set invaded his space during recess and lunch breaks. Usually she'd start by saying, "Hey, Ojirou-kun, promise not to tell," and she'd wait for him to say "Yeah, sure" before she went on. Even though she did most of the talking between them, he tried his best to nod and continue the conversation, because listening to her voice wasn't unpleasant, and he wanted to hear more of it.

He found that it took a range of a week to two weeks and a half before she was gushing about a different boy. Todoroki and Midoriya were some of her first crushes-Ojirou knew that these were pretty mainstream crushes, based on how even the girls from the other classes gushed about the two of them shamelessly.

But then she'd talk about how attractive and reliable-looking Sero was, just because he was taller than most people in class. Or how Tokoyami had a distinctive forlorn charm about him, like those handsome brooding vampires from the __DarkLight__ series of novels. Or how nice it must feel to be carried by Shoji's many brawny arms. Or how Satou might have been the perfect husband among all the 1A boys because he'd fight baddies by the day and feed you delicious cakes at night. Or even how sexy Snipe-sensei must have been in his youth, and how she blushed __sooo__ hard when her bare invisible boob accidentally made contact with his sturdy shoulder during their last practicals.

So that's how he concluded that either she had a very off-beat taste in men, or she was just plain messing with him. Ojirou learned how to keep his face perfectly plain and how to make his tail behave when he listened to her talk about any type of boy or even any kind of topic, even ones involving her nudity, if only because she'd make a little sound of victory if his tail wags even a little bit. Even though it was cute, he didn't give her many chances to do that.

The only time he reacted violently to any of her peculiar crushes was that day. They were in a rescue course under the supervision of Thirteen-sensei and were pretending to be incapacitated victims in a flash flood. In this very realistic scenario, the floodwaters reached the second floor of their pretend house. They were hanging out on the roof, being soaked by rains and moderately strong winds, waiting for Kirishima and Kaminari to rescue them.

There was nothing much to do apart from trying to keep warm because they were told not to move. So out of nowhere, when she said that the dark-eyed purple-haired boy from the General Class seemed like he could be a good guy, Ojirou couldn't stop his tail from moving.

"Don't ever talk to him," he said sharply, the fluffy end of his tail going around to where he guessed her mouth would be. She responded with a muffled protest, her small gloves attempting to pull his tail gently away from her face. He didn't budge immediately.

He waited until she made a sound that sounded like "okay," and he moved his tail out of the way. She gasped dramatically and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You're trying to suffocate a helpless victim during a disaster situation! Are you a villain, Tailman?!"

"I didn't suffocate you… or at least, I didn't mean to," he protested meekly.

She only giggled at him, like she usually did, and he barely suppressed a little wag that his tail wanted to do. "I'm okay, I'm just messing with you. But you really don't like Shinsou-kun, huh?"

Ojirou felt himself frown. "It's not that I don't like him… it's just that... I don't like his quirk." He remembered that frighening __gap__ in his memory that Shinsou made in his mind during the sports festival. He didn't like not remembering if he did anything right or wrong. He didn't like the feeling of having even a small fraction of his time being stolen from him. And he certainly didn't like how he had the power to do that to any person who would fall for his quirk. It was just too…

Villainous, wasn't it?

The gloves moved again, and he surmised that she rested one finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Ah, but he didn't choose his quirk, right? And I heard he's working hard to use that quirk to become a hero, like what we're doing."

He knew that he was being unfair for that very reason. And he knew that he was one of the few in the school who __didn't__ understand why a person like that would strive to become a hero. He knew, but the part of him that he lost in that gap refused to accept him. At least not right now.

Besides, the very thought of Hagakure __liking__ that guy put a real, nagging discomfort at the back of his mind. Something bloomed there, saying __hey, it's me, the feelings you've been trying to hide all this time, isn't it about time you let it out?__

Please, a plain guy like him was never equipped for anything like dramatic confessions or declarations. Even though the proximity now was enough of a challenge for him to keep it together.

To his surprise, he suddenly felt two gloved hands wrap around his arm, and soft, damp, silky hair very close to his neck. He couldn't see it, but with how strong the scent of her mixed fruits shampoo was next to his nose, he concluded that she was leaning against his shoulder.

"Hey, cheer up, Ojirou-kun! I don't like the face you're making! Your tail looks like it's ready to beat me up~ I'll change the subject, if you like…"

"Oh," he replied bashfully. He'd gotten used to how touchy Hagakure was as a person, but this was probably the closest she'd been to him physically. There was something really soft next to his arm-he tried not to think about how there's no floating clothes except a pair of gloves and boots next to him. Momentarily, he was thankful that Mineta was paired off with somebody else. As he tried to focus on anything except how he __thought__ he felt bare, goosepimpled flesh next to him, he heard her voice, suddenly more timid than it's ever been. "Hey, Ojirou-kun, promise not to tell…"

From a distance, through the sudden outpour of heavy rain, he saw a bright yellow raft moving awkwardly across the floodwaters. Kirishima and Kaminari paddled towards them and yelled in an uncoordinated way, while the freshly 'rescued' Uraraka and Ashido huddled in their blankets and were obviously giggling at all their efforts.

"Yes?" asked Ojirou, as he waved his arm and tail to get their attention.

He watched one glove wave frantically in the air, while the other one remained to cling his arm. She didn't say anything immediately at first-maybe she was watching the raft come closer to them. Maybe she was watching how the Kirishima was loudly and desperately trying to talk Kaminari out of using his electricity in the rain. Or maybe she was watching how Ashido was somehow super close to the red-head, a look of pure joy in her shiny black eyes as she poked Kirishima's cheek over and over.

The glove on his arm tightened a little bit. She spoke again, very softly, so that Ojirou had to lean in closer to her to hear. "The person that I really, really like most of all… seems to be in-love with someone else."

By then, Ashido was practically laughing her head off as she tried to keep Kirishima from hitting Kaminari on the head any more than he already has.

"... __mou,__ I don't always like my quirk either. She's… never going to see me." Her voice was the same, cute voice that spilled out one secret from another, but he felt like he shouldn't have heard her last confession. The glove now loosened its grip from his arm. An apologetic laugh escaped from her before she stepped away from him and started yelling at the raft and their hapless rescuers to come closer.

He wanted to tell her something, anything to comfort her. Something cheesy and predictable and useless like, __I see you.__ He couldn't come up with anything truer about Hagakure Tooru if he tried.

 _ _But… you don't see me either.__ And so he ignored the nagging voice at the back of his head, like he was used to, and focused his voice on calling for his rescuers.

His tail drooped a little lower than usual that time, but he insisted that it was just the rain.

* * *

 **AN:** I don't see a lot of content featuring these two! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this sad little chapter, just because Ojirou's one of my fave characters. Still, having said that, I don't have a strong enough basis on how to write their characters so I hope this is at least a little believable.  
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy the next one too!


	3. You Should Have Just Asked

**Yes  
Chapter 3: You Should Have Just Asked**

Kirishima took a couple of steps backward as Uraraka's foot landed over his hardened arms. He let out a loud, impressed whoop as she landed nimbly on her feet. "I felt that," he told her, waving both his arms to emphasize the point, to which the girl grinned proudly.

This wasn't the first time that he sparred with Uraraka, but it wasn't exactly a common occurrence; he'd just happened to be there in the gym doing strength training, and her tutor happened to be running late, so while she had extra time she had asked him to fight her.

Since the Sports Festival, she was adamant about getting physically stronger and faster, and had taken lots of initiative to train with her more physically capable classmates. Usually it was Midoriya, but lately she seemed to be asking him to train her less and less. (Kirishima didn't want to pry.) Iida or Tsuyu-chan were available too, but they usually prefer cardio like running or swimming than sparring. Sometimes she got Ojirou, Shoji, or Satou to train her too, but they usually needed to cut the sparring sessions shortly because they needed to study.

Lately though, she had a more frequent tutor, one who was turning out to be one of her favorites and was slowly making its own way into her daily life. This was the only person in the whole school who was willing to push her past her limit breaks every single time, refused to go easy on her, lifted her up to throw her down on the gravel and muck, always without an ounce of hesitation… Because of course she got back up each time, and he had that much faith in her.

Something fluttered in Kirishima's chest as he remembered watching those sessions in a trance. It was an immediate, heavy __something__ that he wished wasn't there _ _.__ A pang, that was what people usually called it. He knew the reason why such a stupid feeling would come to his stupid heart at that memory, yet…

Her perky voice snapped him out of that uncomfortable flashback. "You aren't gonna make a nice comment about me being manly yet?" she asked mischievously before transforming into a blur of pink and black, her fists zooming in the direction of Kirishima's spiky head.

She was quick, but not as quick as fifteen minutes ago, when they first started (continuously) sparring. Fatigue was already showing in her movements, which resulted in a subtle but definite clumsiness in each of her strikes. The redhead easily predicted her moves and dodged one fist while capturing the other in his hand. He pulled her two, three, four steps forward, making her face lurch forwards and downwards, her nose rushing to the floor. She threw her hand outward to catch herself.

"Not manly enough. Yet. But you're gettin' there." With confidence and a little more effort than expected, Kirishima caught her, one arm in front of her belly, effectively aborting her fall. "Don't throw your arm out like that when you fall. That's an easy way to get a fracture, ya know."

She puffed her cheeks. "I… I know. Normally I'd float myself to avoid havin' ta fall in the first place. But… yeah, no quirks on my part during spars."

The sound of the door slamming shut and the familiar stomping cut their conversation short. They simultaneously looked to the direction of the source of all the noise, and Kirishima realized a little too late that he still had his arms around Uraraka.

Bakugou Katsuki glared at them, not even bothering to hide the distaste in his eyes. "Oi, the fuck are the two of you gettin' cuddly for, huh?!" he uttered in his usual choleric way, dropping his backpack to the floor just as noisily.

"Whoa, bro, cool it." Kirishima raised both hands to the air, and belatedly he realized that this might have looked too defensive, because the crease between the blonde's eyebrows just got deeper and more defined, and his lower jaw jutted outwards a little more. The redhead wanted to sigh in defeat-he __really__ didn't want Bakugou, of all people, to get any funny ideas about him and Uraraka, because if he did, the pang in his chest would feel less like a tiny manageable needle that's easy to hide, and more like a huge knife made of frozen shit being shoved deeper and deeper into his heart that's definitely more challenging to keep a secret.

And boy, did he need to keep this huge frozen shit knife a damn secret, because Bakugou was part of his daily life, and soon Uraraka might be too. __Shit,__ that could also happen, right? The pang got bigger and bigger the more he thought about it, so he shook his head to force himself to stop thinking. (Usually an easy task, but getting harder and harder by the day because of his stupid-ass feelings.)

Thankfully Uraraka, having been exposed to Bakugou's temper tantrums more frequently than ever, seemed to know how to manage them and remained steadfastly nonchalant. She rolled her eyes and puffed her cheeks out even more than what Kirishima thought was possible. "No-one's getting cuddly, Murder-face. Me and Kirishima-kun were just sparring-ya know, that thing you promised me we'd be doing an hour ago before you ditched me?"

Bakugou growled, his teeth gnashing like a disgruntled piranha munching on rotten meat. "I told you that I needed to go to the fuckin' support department to have my gauntlets modified, didn't I? And I told ya to sit yer round ass down and wait for me in the classroom! You're the one who fuckin' ditched me!"

"You didn't fucking tell me anything!" Uraraka yelled back. She was starting to pick up his bad habits. She didn't hide her irritation, but it wasn't exactly the angriest bellow she could muster, and Kirishima knew that this was her adapting to Bakugou's temper.

"Yeah I did! I sent you a fuckin' text didn't I?!"

"No you didn't!" The small girl had gracelessly stomped her way to him by that time (another bad habit that she must have picked up from being around Bakugou so often). She fished out her phone-an outdated flip phone with a little green sheep charm hanging from it, Kirishima noted-and flipped it in front of Bakugou. "… Oh. Yes you did." She replied dumbly as she stared at the screen.

"Jesus," grumbled Bakugou, rubbing one hand from forehead to chin. A fresh new sheen of explosive sweat now gloriously covered the skin of his face. Were it a different person than Uraraka Ochako who had the audacity to do that to Bakugou, that person would have been as good as overdone barbecued pork ribs by now. The smell of nitroglycerin wafting to Kirishima's nose got stronger and stronger. "You couldn't wait, could you, Round-face? You had to go and waste your time and energy sparring like a cutesy little princess with Shitty Hair? How are you gonna fight me to the fullest in that state yer in?"

"Hey, watch what you're saying to Kirishima-kun, he-"

"It's fine, Baku-bro, we didn't do that much. She'd still be able to train with you." Kirishima interrupted Uraraka's rant from what he deemed was a 'safe' distance from the couple-well, from Uraraka, at least, which was about five feet away. "Besides, I noticed that her endurance is getting better, so yeah. She probably has a good chance of beating your ass in a fight now, provided you don't use your quirk wildly and blow her up like a stick of dynamite."

Bakugou was narrowing his eyes at him. Kirishima knew that look-it was how a particularly cute but shitty kid looked protecting his toys from the other kids in the playground. All the redhead could do to reassure him was to bare all his crocodile-like fangs in the most benign smile he could muster in this situation.

"You know, Bakugou, forget it. I'm too pissed to train with you right now." Uraraka had a scowl on her face, which was impressively as deep as Bakugou's was. She gathered her things from the bench nearby, and without even stopping to look at the angry blonde, waved at Kirishima. "Thanks, Kirishima-kun! I learned a lot today."

With that, the little brunette was gone, and instantly Kirishima felt a fresh new wave of irritation flow from Bakugou's aura. "That little round fuck, I'm the one doin' her a favor, who the fuck does she think she is-"

The redhead let out the sigh that he was holding back. He dared to step a little closer to Bakugou, the intoxicating nitroglycerin scent filling his lungs. "Sorry for hijacking your training session like that, man. Promise, I didn't mean to. She told me you ditched her."

"Whatever. I don't really give a fuck." In a show of poorly-controlled indifference, the obviously annoyed Bakugou turned away from him and began stretching his arms in an angry huff.

"You know… she says she's getting better thanks to you." He thought of saying this, because it was true, and because he wanted Bakugou to feel a little better, but as the words left his mouth he realized that he didn't really need to say it.

Bakugou obviously tried not to be too affected as he reluctantly listened, but he had a faraway look in his eyes. "Not good enough. But she will be. If she fuckin' starts listening to what I tell her. When I'm done with her, you wouldn't be able to even touch a strand of hair on her stupid round head." He twisted his torso to one side, thoughtfulness betraying his voice in his next sentence. "Oi. Shitty Hair."

"Yeah, bro?"

The blonde brows were together again, all the efforts of second guessing violently creasing his face. His lower jaw jutted out tensely as he tried to form the words on his tongue. Kirishima hated how fuckin' __adorable__ this was, and hated even more how he's just quietly admiring this with the usual stupid grin plastered on his mouth and all the world's turmoil in his heart.

"Nah, forget it," Bakugou grumbled quietly, turning away from him and pointedly avoiding his eyes.

He walked away from him then, speed rope in hand, and within minutes he lost himself within the bubble-shaped whoosh of rope. Didn't even look up, didn't even bother to ask him to spar with him, as they used to do before. Kirishima exhaled quietly.

The disquieting feelings that arose in his heart when the blonde looked away sucked balls, but it was all good. 'Cause this way, at least, Bakugou wouldn't notice how he couldn't keep his shoulders from drooping slightly, or his facial muscles from exposing his teeth in his usual fired-up grin.

"You should have just asked, you know," he said under his breath, trying not to make it sound as pathetic and forlorn as his insides felt, for having such a stupid, uncontrollable crush on his best friend.

From the corner of one ruby-red eye, he saw that Bakugou turned his head slightly to face him. But by that time he already had his back turned and was on the way out.

* * *

 **AN:** Because Kacchako is my fav this was the very very first short story that I wrote in this series lololol! I've always wanted to try writing Kirikacchako and I hope I did well. I love Kirishima so much, he must be the best boyfriend out of all of them 'cos he's just so kind I wanna cry. Waaah!  
So that ends this update. The next three chapters will be stories about Deku, Todoroki, Momo, Jirou, and Kaminari. Stay tuned!


	4. Think About It

**Yes  
** Chapter 4: Think About It

* * *

 _"Have you ever been in love? Horrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up these defenses. You build up this whole armor, for years, so nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life… you give them a piece of you. They don't ask for it. They do something dumb one day like kiss you, or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so a simple phrase like "maybe we should just be friends" or "how very perceptive" turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. It's a soul-hurt, a body-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. Nothing should be able to do that. Especially not love._

 _"I hate love."_

\- Neil Gaiman, The Kindly Ones

* * *

The room was pitch black when Midoriya Izuku sat up bleary-eyed and disoriented. His mind scrambled to recognize his surroundings. It took a few seconds to register the absence of the comforting stares of All Might from the multiple posters he hung on his bedroom wall, and another second to realize that he wasn't in his dorm room, and was in fact on the common room couch, wrapped up in a fleece blanket that wasn't his.

He rolled over and blindly groped for his phone in the darkness. Somewhere on the floor, he touched something soft and irregular in shape. Izuku being the way he is, a million inappropriate things crossed his mind as his skin made contact with other skin. He gasped dumbly and retracted his hand as if burnt.

It was at that moment that a warm, orange glow suddenly enveloped his right side. He made another flabbergasted noise as he turned to the sudden source of light. He came face-to-face with a tall figure in a grey shirt and sweatpants, pale skin covered by shadows, one grey eye engulfed in darkness and the other azure one glinting like ice. He cradled a small flame on his left hand, so calm and controlled that Izuku felt like it wouldn't burn to touch it. His other hand held a cup of tea.

"Todoroki-kun?!" Izuku whispered harshly. He stumbled on his attempt to sit up as the blanket that covered him got caught on one knee, causing him to face-plant on the cushions with a dull noise.

Todoroki Shouto didn't make a sound, but allowed one side of his mouth to move upwards in amusement.

"U-um," began Izuku less intelligently than he liked. He didn't always like being naturally awkward, and being around this particular classmate magnified that awkwardness exponentially to a scale of 100. "What time is it? What are you doing here? And, and, we can just turn on the light instead of, of the flame, I mean, it's cool that you could control it, but there's fire alarms, and-"

In an instant, the flame in his hand was gone. Todoroki brought one warm finger over Izuku's mouth, shutting the green-haired boy up and turning his face beet red instantly. "It's 3 AM. The others are sleeping. You might wake them up."

"Ah-!" Izuku instantly covered his mouth and internally cursed his awkward self. He looked at the floor, where Sero, Kaminari, and Mina were snoozing contentedly, each with their own fleece blanket in the same design as the one that covered him then. It seemed that he was fondling Sero's face earlier when he was looking for his phone.

He remembered then that they were working on their biology project together in the common room. He struggled to get his groupmates to write out their parts in between showing funny videos and memes to each other. After all that effort, he watched them drop one by one on the floor like flies. The exhaustion must have gotten to him eventually too; the last thing he remembered was wondering how earth Kaminari thought that the sentence " _Given his excessive power, we therefore conclude that the superhero All Might has super All-Mitochondria_ " would be appropriate in a scientific paper.

(Even though it sounded like a neat pun when he read it at 1 AM. He should forward it to All Might.)

So he must have passed out at one point too. He tried not to feel too tired as he pulled the expensive-looking blanket around him. "So these blankets…"

"Yaoyorozu made them for you. She didn't want any of you to catch a cold," replied Todoroki quietly. He looked at him curiously then. "I think you should move upstairs and rest in your room instead of here."

"No, no... we aren't done yet. I need to…" His mouth opened involuntarily, giving way to a huge 4-second yawn. A new wave of somnolence hit him, and he knew that he wouldn't last very long within the very comfortable cocoon of Yaoyorozu's blanket. "I need to go out and stretch… thanks for the light, Todoroki-kun…" he mumbled groggily.

"I'll come with you," said the taller boy. He waited patiently for Izuku to stumble his way off the couch, tiptoe his way around his snoring groupmates, and lead the way out to the porch. The green-haired boy felt grateful to the darkness of the common room because that at least camouflaged the warmth on his cheeks.

As they went out, the cool air sent a chill over Izuku's skin, instantly making the grogginess fade away. He saw his breath appear in front of his face in thin, white puffs. The dewdrops over the garden in front of the 1-A dorm glistened under the stars and the moonlight, in a degree of brightness that only happened at 3AM. He sat down on the steps and appreciated the view.

He heard Todoroki sip his tea calmly behind him. Izuku was suddenly aware of how his heart throbbed within his living body.

"It's cold, isn't it? I feel awake now, but I also feel like a popsicle." He was clad only in one of his statement shirts (one that said "Flannel Shirt") and sweatpants. He put his arms closer to himself and shivered for extra effect.

"It is pretty cold," came the other boy's usual stoic reply. He heard Todoroki's footsteps behind him getting nearer and nearer. Izuku's heart beat faster than ever.

He gave in to the impulse to blather on to mask the noise his pulse was making in his ears. "It's also really pretty out here, huh? I don't always get to appreciate how pretty everything is under the moonlight. I think this is the first time that I've been out here to just take it all in, and… um… and…"

Something warm enclosed itself over on Izuku's bare arm. He watched wide-eyed as Todoroki gently hovered his left hand over the exposed skin on Izuku's right.

Whatever little brains he had left at 3 in the morning all but evaporated. Izuku's heart felt like exploding. "Um… T-Todoroki-kun, what are you…"

The other boy didn't seem to notice how flustered he was. Or if he did (because the unbalanced way Izuku was flailing the other half of his body should be impossible to ignore), he paid it no mind. His mismatched eyes remained focused on Izuku's arm. "You said you were cold," he answered bluntly, continuing to move his hand up and down.

Todoroki's warmth, but absence of touch, teased Izuku in a way he didn't think would be so… _pleasant_. His skin was _so close_ , it was just _right there!_ If he moved his arm just a centimeter upward, he'd feel the flame under Todoroki's bare skin, and the very thought of it made sirens go off in his poor brain.

What was this… this thrill that felt like erupting in his chest? He felt like he was awakening to something that will have him rolling over in his futon restlessly in the future. "Yeah… I d-did, I guess… but…" _But this is just too good to be true. Is this a dream? Am I actually sleepwalking right now?_ Izuku's mind frantically ranted, and he briefly considered pinching his cheek.

A brief look of concern flashed in the other boy's face. "Is it too warm? You're getting pretty red in the face."

"Oh! No? I mean, yes, it might be too warm." Cursing his natural predisposition to blush at the most inappropriate times, Izuku waved his arm away from Todoroki's hovering one. His skin immediately missed the comfortable warmth under the boy's fire side. He tried his best to ignore his body's complaints. "S… sorry for the trouble, Todoroki-kun. N-not that it felt bad because you felt really good-" _stop, just stop saying gross misleading stuff that might scare him off, Midoriya, you stupid green perm!_

Todoroki was now looking at him in curiosity. Izuku bit the inside of his cheek and said, in the straightest voice he could muster, "You don't have to thaw me. I'll be okay."

"All right." Todoroki put his hand back to his side. His gaze shifted from Izuku to the garden in front of them, his lips on the cup of tea on his right hand.

The silence enveloped over them naturally and comfortably. Izuku stretched out his legs before him and considered whether this was a good time now to cut the dream sequence short, wake up, and work on the biology paper that should be ready by 9 AM that day.

But just as he considered standing up from his seat, he heard Todoroki's quiet voice from his side. "Midoriya. Mind if I ask you something?"

Izuku blinked. Todoroki's mismatched eyes were focused on the grass before them, and it was more obvious than ever that something was weighing on his mind. Why wasn't Izuku able to ask why Todoroki was also awake at 3 AM?" "I don't mind. What is it?"

An uncharacteristic look of uncertainty came over the usually confident boy's features. "It's embarrassing. Promise me you'll take me seriously first."

Since when was Todoroki Shouto uncertain about anything? The picture of Endeavor and his flames came to Izuku's mind. He swallowed hard, bracing himself for a difficult conversation and to give his full support. "O-of course I'll take you seriously, Todoroki-kun! Whatever it is, I promise I'll do my best to help you!"

Todoroki lifted his gaze to look at Izuku straight in the eye. His mouth quivered slightly as he mulled over the mystery question in his mind, the uncertainty being more palpable by the second.

"What does it mean… to like someone?"

 _Eeeeehhhhh?_

Todoroki frowned at what must be the ridiculous expression on Izuku's face. "You promised you'd take me seriously, Midoriya," he said in irritation.

Izuku tried his best to rearrange his face before he faced Todoroki again. "I'm sorry… it's just really surprising that you would be concerned about these things, Todoroki-kun. It didn't appear like something you'd… bother with…"

The boy nodded. "It wasn't a problem before," was all he said, even though Izuku gave him some time to come up with an explanation.

The green-haired boy breathed in deeply, his sleep-deprived trains of thought going all over the place. "Do you mean like, as in admiration? Or tolerance? Or… like, being in-love with someone?"

Todoroki's mouth twisted downwards as he muttered bashfully, "the last one you said." When Izuku made a surprised noise, he said with an even voice, "I understand that you might not be the best person to ask. But among our classmates, I think you're the only one who'll give me a useful answer."

"A… useful answer," repeated Izuku questioningly. The other boy didn't reply. Fighting with his own brain to stop imagining scenarios _why_ Todoroki Shouto would approach Midoriya Izuku at 3 AM with such an out-of-character question, he suppressed a sigh and forced out a coherent response. "Well… okay. I don't have a lot of experience either, Todoroki-kun. I mean I haven't even had a girlfriend ever. But as promised, I'll try my best."

He stared up at the moon, mentally asking for some inspiration. "I guess… being in-love with somebody can't be easy. I mean, I think it's wanting to be with someone, looking up to someone so much that you want to be _like_ that person. It's feeling that a person is your strength and your weakness at the same time-"

"Like you and All Might?"

"Wha-n-no, of course not!" Izuku waved his hands frantically in front of him. "I mean… with All Might, it's different. I admire him, I want to be like him, but I'm _definitely_ not in-love with him…"

Todoroki crossed his arms over his chest, a look of genuine confusion on his face. "So… how is that type of love different from… the last one?"

He didn't think that Todoroki would be the type of person to want to hearanswers like _you want to touch the person_ or _you want to kiss the person_ etcetera. It would be too embarrassing to say, anyway. Izuku was sure that that was a grade-school way of describing what love was, and he was sure that Todoroki who was expectantly gazing back at him then deserved a better answer than that.

But really, what did Midoriya Izuku know about love?

He stared at Todoroki's mismatched eyes. Stared at the pale skin, bright against the chill of the early morning. Stared at his red-and-white profile against the backdrop of the stars and the moon against the night sky.

He tried not to stare at the scar marring his face. The scar stared back at him silently and threateningly. "It's… vulnerability, I guess."

The answer slipped out of his mouth before he knew it. Todoroki tilted his head and repeated, "Vulnerability."

"When… when somebody decides that they are in-love with someone… they're opening themselves to the possibility of being hurt." Izuku wondered why his voice got quieter all of a sudden, and wondered where all of this was coming from. "A person can be as daring or as quiet as they can about love, but it's all the same in the end, isn't it? A person, who by all means should be no different from any other person, suddenly seems like the strongest person in the world, a regular miracle on two legs."

The image of pillars of fire and ice engulfing the arena, and of smoke and fog embracing him and his pulverized arms so intimately and completely, invaded his thoughts like a broken dam.

Todoroki continued to stare at him in rapt attention, morbidly curious about how different Izuku's voice must have sounded then. He willed all those images away and continued. "Thinking about them makes your heart feel so full, like… like it'll explode the next second. Sometimes you lose sleep, but sometimes just a single word from them makes it feel like all those sleepless nights are worth it. Sometimes it gets so hard to concentrate but at the same time, thinking about that person makes you want to do your best…"

He clenched his fists involuntarily. He was suddenly acutely aware of all the scars on his own body, most of all his hands, destroyed once or twice under Todoroki's watch. The boy beside him wasn't saying anything, wasn't daring to interrupt, and he felt exhausted, he felt mismatched eyes on him and he felt _exhilarated,_ he felt all his red blood rushing through his vessels, felt them flooding his accursed cheeks. Izuku plowed on. "Love makes you think that a human person, with all their faults and weaknesses and problems, can give you back unconditional love and happiness, even though it's not always gonna be that way… It can be so strong that you find yourself changing in ways you don't expect. Sometimes that change makes you feel stronger, but sometimes it hurts so much that you feel like you want to die. Sometimes so much that…"

He trailed off. His mouth suddenly felt too tired to move, his chest too heavy to carry the burden of his words. He wondered why he felt so inexplicably sad then, and somehow he remembered how Todoroki appeared during the tournament - infinitely sad as he melted the great wall of ice that he himself created.

He seemed so far then, so alone, and all he wanted to do was to be there for him, but he didn't know how. And even though he was there right beside him in the now, Izuku felt the distance and the wall of ice all the same.

Todoroki still wasn't moving those eyes, wasn't making a sound. Not knowing what else to do, Izuku laughed awkwardly. "I don't know what else to say, Todoroki-kun! I'm getting really embarrassed here, can you _please_ say something back? I'm begging you!"

Not a single change of expression perceptible on his smooth face, Todoroki broke eye contact and stared at the empty space in front of them. That small, almost-smile that only he was capable of graced his lips. "That's very detailed for someone without a lot experience, Midoriya. Makes me think you're pining for someone really bad."

"Hey, don't make fun of me, Todoroki-kun! I'm giving you a serious answer, like you asked!" His high tone went back in full force, and he just prayed that he didn't sound too defensive. To his surprise, Todoroki was chuckling quietly, and suddenly Izuku's heart leaped to his throat. "Did you just make me say all those embarrassing things just because? You're so mean!"

"Of course not." The half-white, half-red-haired boy put his cup down on the step next to him. He breathed in deeply and quietly and said, "Thanks for giving me such a serious answer, Midoriya. You really helped me out."

Izuku blinked once or twice and willed all his courage to ask, "How?"

As soon as he asked, Izuku was suddenly unsure if he wanted to hear the answer. An anxious flood of hows and whys and _whos_ took over his already anxious mind, Todoroki Shouto as always being at the center of it. The boy in question looked down on his lap, lip twitching deep in thought.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Todoroki finally answered, "I promised someone important to me that I'd think about this seriously."

Izuku's heart suddenly felt like lead.

"... and I think I know how I feel about that person now."

Like an anchor made of lead, sinking into the dark, chaotic currents of the Pacific Ocean. "That's… that's great, I guess?" Izuku gave him a big smile out of reflex, as he trained himself to do when somebody's in trouble. But whoever in between them was in greater trouble, he didn't really know. "Great."

Todoroki nodded and stood up. Izuku took this as his cue that their odd conversation was over, and it was time to go back to the dorms to try to finish their homework while fighting the impulse to stare at the ceiling and curse his stupidity until daybreak. As they stepped closer to the warmth of the common room, Todoroki stopped. Izuku barely stopped himself from bumping into the taller boy, and barely registered how close their faces suddenly were when he turned around to face him.

The uncharacteristic uncertainty was back on his face. "Midoriya."

The very sound of the other's voice so close to him made him shudder. "Yes?"

He felt Todoroki's warm breath float to him as he exhaled. "If this… thing we talked about is also bothering you, you can talk to me too. Since I owe you and all."

Izuku blinked in surprise at first. A shaky, awkward laugh escaped from him before he could stop it. When Todoroki muttered "I'm serious" to him in irritation, the boy just said, "It's fine. Thanks, Todoroki-kun."

They separated ways shortly after that, Todoroki completely oblivious and going back to his room upstairs and Izuku sinking back in his new fleece blanket cocoon on the couch. He watched Todoroki's tall back disappear into the hallway before he focused his eyes on the stack of messy papers he had to go through.

"It's fine…"

As he bent over to go back to work, he tried not to think about how cold his right arm felt. He pulled the blanket closer, ignored the pang in his heart, and silently worked until daybreak.

* * *

AN: A lot of Deku's dialogue was inspired by Rose Walker's reflections on love (as written above, hehe), written by Neil Gaiman, which is one of my very absolute favorite things ever ever. Of course I couldn't write it as eloquently. T_T This quote kind of also inspired the next three chapters haha. I've been reading a lot of depressing literature lately.  
This is my first (published) attempt to write in Deku's POV. I hope I did well T_T  
Up next: Momo!

Addendum: to the Guest reviewer who pointed out my pasting mistake... THANK U SO MUCH it's all okay now T_T


	5. After All This Time

**Yes  
** Chapter 5: After All This Time

* * *

"Yaomomo. Yaomomo. Yao-mo-moooooo."

When she came back to her senses, a thin hand with dark purple nail polish was waving itself in front of her face. She blinked and looked up to meet two pairs of dark eyes and a pair of invisible ones gazing at her in concern.

"What's up with you?" Kyoka, the owner of the hand that waved her back to reality, crossed her arms in front of her and frowned. "You've been out of it since homeroom."

Momo held her head, marvelling at how empty it felt, and shook her head. She straightened her body out and attempted to look as she always did. "I'm sorry… I didn't sleep very well last night," she answered bashfully. "I finalized the biology homework and did student council work, and before I knew it it was already dawn."

That wasn't entirely untrue, but Momo didn't want to think any further of why she spent the past few nights tossing and turning on her four-poster bed. Kyoka, the one person in the group who knew her the best, tilted her head dubiously, but didn't say anything.

Mina appeared oblivious, however, and gave a loud, exaggerated sigh. "I knooow! I'm pretty sleep deprived myself! I can't believe Deku, he kept us up until 1 freakin' AM over that biology homework! My skin just feels so ugly and saggy and I just want a few extra hours of beauty sleep, please, lord!"

Somewhere behind them, Kaminari piped up, "Your skin's always ugly and saggy no matter how much you sleep," earning him a splash of acid and a sharp prod of an ear-jack at the center of his forehead.

Tooru's uniform sleeves waved up and down frantically. "M-Mina-chan! Don't listen to him, you're always cute no matter how sleep deprived you are! Let's get face masks later to help your skin recover!"

"Ah! Tooru-chan! You're the cutest of them all! Please save me from all these ugly, ashy boys!"

"Who you callin' ashy?!"

A brand new argument erupted in front of her desk. Momo let herself laugh at their antics. She'd been grateful for any distraction from her thoughts, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem . She heard Kyoka sigh in exasperation beside her before she tapped her at the shoulder.

"You have a visitor there," she said, her right ear-jack pointing at the back door. A dark haired boy who was obviously nervous, given how a fresh sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead when Momo met his eyes, waited at the doorway. Kyoka looked at her with concern and asked, "Are you up for this one, or do you want me to handle it?"

Momo exhaled quietly. "N… no, it's fine, I can talk to him," she said. She forced what she hoped was a cheerful smile over her lips, stood up straight, and gently made her way to the doorway.

From the seat next to hers, she felt a pair of mismatched eyes follow her movements across the classroom. She ignored the heaviness at the pit of her stomach, hoped that her smile didn't waver, and greeted her nervous visitor.

* * *

His name was Yamato Tarou, and he was a second-year from the support department. He was about 175 cm tall, had dark hair, sharp dark eyes, and a smooth face. Momo wouldn't be surprised if he was popular among the other second years. His quirk was that he can will his fingers to take any shape that he wanted, the sizes of which were limited to the actual mass that his hands possessed. He was third in rank in his class.

Most important of all, as he declared to her without an ounce of hesitation, he was very, very interested in Yaoyorozu Momo.

"I… I know you don't know me at all," stammered the boy in front of her as he struggled not to lose his nerve. He kept his eyes on Momo, his sharp eyes filled with passion. "But… I've liked you since I saw you fight in the last sports festival."

Momo laughed bashfully then and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear out of reflex. "But Yamato-senpai, I lost that match pretty badly… knowing that people remember how Tokoyami-san defeated me so easily is kind of embarrassing…"

"I don't care. When I saw you, all I could think about was how I wanted to protect you. To me, it was love at first sight. I couldn't get you out of my head since then, and well… here I am, laying it bare in front of you." The boy blushed, but his gaze on Momo didn't waver as he continued his proclamation. He lowered his head in front of her and said, "Please, Yaoyorozu-san, go out with me!"

Momo swallowed subtly. This wasn't the first time that a boy or a girl brought her to some private part of the school to confess to her. This wasn't the first time that she had to listen to the sincere feelings of somebody she didn't know very well. And this wasn't the first time that she had to form kind words in her head to soften the blow.

"You seem like a wonderful person, senpai," she began slowly. The boy raised his head and looked right at her, and she only hoped that she didn't look as uncomfortable as she felt. "And I really appreciate your honesty… but, I really can't return your feelings. I hope you understand."

She hated this part the most. The familiar words that slipped off her tongue always had the same bitter taste. It was her turn to bow her head then, and when she looked up, the boy was thankfully still smiling. A sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. He scratched the back of his head bashfully and looked away from her eyes.

"I… I figured you'd say that, Yaoyorozu-san," he said with a forced laugh. "If it's okay with you… can you tell me why?"

Momo bit her lip then. A certain face popped up in her mind then, and it took a herculean effort to consciously remove it from her mind. She heard the boy laughing in front of her, and heard him say, "It's true then. You have somebody else that you like."

"What do you mean?"

The boy sighed. "I don't think anyone stands a chance against 1A's prince." She blushed furiously and sputtered one bewildered denial after the other, but the boy merely waved both his hands in front of him dismissively. "It's okay, Yaoyorozu-san. I took a chance because you're the most beautiful girl in school, and you're still single for some reason… but if it's honesty we're talking about, I think you owe the same thing to yourself, too."

Momo was stunned into speechlessness. _Honesty?_ She took a chance at being brazenly honest before, and she was still reeling from the effects of that honesty.

She could only give an awkward nod as the boy waved his goodbye at her and left her alone with her tumultuous honest thoughts.

* * *

Despite the incessant teasing from some of her classmates, Momo kept silent about the end result of her senpai's confession. Kyoka, bless her heart, chased away the inquisition by demanding everyone to "drink their mind-ya-business-juice," effectively giving Momo some much needed peace and quiet.

It was a struggle to pay attention to class. Thankfully, they didn't have practical work scheduled that day, and before anybody knew it, the afternoon classes concluded with her staring blankly at her incomplete English notes. As she packed her things glumly, Kyoka walked up to her with her bag slung lazily over one shoulder, already ready to walk back to their dorms like always.

However, the universe decided that Momo hadn't had enough yet. Before she could pack the last of her things in her bag, the person who sat next to her walked up to her desk and called out to her.

She saw Kyoka give Todoroki Shouto a meaningful, cold side eye. Despite this, Momo felt her heart jump, as it always did when this particular boy called out her name. "Yes, Todoroki-san?" she asked, looking up to him from her seat.

He had the same cold look as always, but a shynessthat was foreign to him flashed briefly in his eyes. "I'd like to walk you home. If you don't mind."

"I don't mind," she answered a little too quickly than she'd liked. She felt Kyoka shift her gaze back to hers sharply, but the other girl didn't say anything. Looking at her best friend, she told her quietly that she'll catch up later in the dorms before taking her things and walking two steps behind Todoroki.

As it usually happened when they walked together, she felt many eyes on them. She saw the knowing grins between Mina, Kaminari, and even Kirishima; she saw the look of concern from behind Iida's glasses, and the indescribable look in Midoriya's. When Todoroki slowed down to walk next to her, she felt the gazes of the countless other UA students as they passed in the hallway: some of the hopeless ones belonging to those whom Momo rejected before, some of them the jealous gazes of Todoroki's more vocal fans.

They reached their shoe lockers without saying a single word. Todoroki didn't appear the least bit uncomfortable. He waited for her patiently as she carefully tied up her boots and even offered one hand to help her up from her seat.

Just the touch of his cold right hand was enough for her insides to do somersaults. For once, she didn't mind the explosion of scandalous whispers that followed this simple act.

They continued their walk, again in that amicable silence. As Momo kept her eyes on the pavement freshly littered with crisp, orange leaves, she marveled at the entirely new sense of quiet in her heart. She wondered whether to be glad for this, or to be wary; somehow it felt like being in the eye of a quiet but deadly storm, each accidental bump of his shoulder against hers a warning for her to guard her heart.

Todoroki walked them through the scenic route. He led them through the campus park and to a bench entirely empty save for a fat orange cat who lounged there. Seeing them approach, the cat mewled at them welcomingly. She let Momo rub her head and purred lazily.

"I see Aizawa-sensei feed her sometimes," said Todoroki, speaking up for the first time since they left the school. "He calls her Sweetie."

Momo giggled at the unexpected gap moe. She rubbed the cat's double chin. "It seems like Aizawa-sensei might be overdoing it to Sweetie."

The cat didn't protest, but decided that she'd had enough affection. She hopped off the bench without a second look at them, tail high in the air. Todoroki gestured to the now empty seats, and they both settled down simultaneously.

They fell into their natural silence once more. Momo curled her hands in front of her and tried not to be conscious of the throb of her pulse ringing through her ears.

"Are you cold?"

"No, I'm fine." Her mind skidded to a halt the next moment when Todoroki's left hand reached out to touch both of hers. A comfortable warmth emanated from under his palm, and she felt like melting into a puddle.

"... oh," was all she could say. All the blood rushed to her face. Even so, she summoned all her courage to look at her companion, who was staring back at her without expression.

She knew that there was a reason why Todoroki Shouto would call her out to an empty bench away from the prying eyes of others. Something somewhere inside her mind advised her not-so-kindly and not-so-softly to brace herself and face the music. She took a deep breath and dared to ask, "So… Todoroki-san. You wanted to speak with me about something?"

Todoroki didn't immediately answer, but didn't remove his gaze from her. "… yes," he said quietly.

She tried to smile back at him. There was not an ounce of joy in the way he spoke. It's okay though. She was expecting this to happen… sooner or later. "Is this about… what I told you last time?"

"Yes," he repeated, in the same quiet, almost regretful voice. His face didn't change, but he gripped her hands a little tighter. Her skin reddened under his touch, but she didn't pull away. He breathed in once and thoughtfully added, "I thought about it for a long time, like I promised you."

Momo nodded. "I'm sorry," she said, but she didn't know why.

"It's okay." His fingers curled around her right hand, and he regarded their point of contact briefly. Momo wondered whether his pulse was quickening in the same way that hers was racing out of control. "I know that you were just being honest with me when you told me about your feelings."

Whenever he spoke, he always sounded so sure of himself. It was amazing, really. Again, Momo nodded. Todoroki slowly let go of her hand and stared out into the open space. "So… it should be me who's sorry, Yaoyorozu."

Of course.

Of course he was.

She knew from the start that he'd say something like this, but the words stung all the same, like glass shards floating to her heart. Her entire body numbed in defense.

"I'm not… a good enough person. I, you… you can't waste your time with me. You're too good for that." Stunned, she listened to him struggle with his words for the very first time since she'd known him. His mismatched eyes focused on something in front of him, like he was watching a particularly painful memory. "I… I don't believe… that a person like me is fit to love anybody. I've only ever seen it go wrong. And I don't want to do… this… to you."

As he said _this,_ one hand went up to touch the scar on his red side. He paused to take a breath-he seemed to be holding one all this time, and he looked back at her with worry clear in his mismatched eyes. She didn't know, didn't even consider what he was going through, what made his say that he wasn't good enough. She wanted to say, _you're so good, I'm nothing like you, believe me, you're good enough._

But she didn't know enough. She didn't know where the scar came from, what he meant when he said he couldn't do something like that to her. And she was too afraid to ask. Now add guilt to the pool of negative emotions threatening to break her heart apart. She bit her lower lip and remained silent.

"I'm sorry, Yaoyorozu," he repeated in response to her silence, a palpable sense of loss underlining his voice.

 _Why did I have to confess in the first place? Why couldn't I have been quiet about this? Why did I have to trouble Todoroki-san with my stupid ideas?_ She clasped her hands in front of her, both pale from the absence of Todoroki's warmth.

 _Why did I have to love him for so long? Why do I still love him after all this time?_ But this wasn't the time to falter. Todoroki was someone who respected her enough to say it to her face, to give her as much honesty as he thought she deserved. "Don't be," she said, her voice steady and strong. Her eyes were damp, but not a single teardrop slid down her cheeks. She forced her mouth upwards into what she hoped was a strong smile. "Thank you for giving me your answer, Todoroki-san. I really appreciate your honesty."

 _I don't really know what I'm doing, but…_ "Maybe we should just be friends," she heard herself say. The boy beside her stared, stunned initially at her words.

"Yes. I'd like that." Todoroki nodded after a period of thoughtful silence. His relief gave way to a small, actual smile that made her heart stop.

 _… but I'll do my best, too. For you._ "Yes."

After another thoughtful silent, as if daring himself to do it for her, Todoroki extended one hand to her. It was his left hand, and as she took it she muttered something about how it felt like a stove. They stared at each other and snorted at the same time.

And just like that, they were walking home, with Momo forcing out a story about the argument her friends had in front of her desk, and Todoroki listening politely. She forced it so that it was the same as their afternoons before any of those things ever happened, the only difference being the way his hand pulsed warmly against hers. She listened to his small sounds of affirmation and the crunch of the leaves under their shoes, treasuring each sound as if it would be the last time that she'd hear them.

When they reached the empty yard in front of Heights Alliance, Todoroki let go of her hand. She shook her head when he asked her if she was going to follow, and nodded when he told her that he'd see her later. She watched silently as he turned away to disappear into their shared home.

She didn't know when or how she ended up back at her room. Didn't remember how she avoided the scrutiny of her classmates who were causing a ruckus in the common room on any given day. Didn't know how long it was before Kyoka found her staring wistfully out her window, before the smaller girl ran up to her and captured her in an embrace and let her collapse in a fit of sobs. She told Kyoka that she knew this would happen, she knew from the start that it would end up like this, so why did it hurt so bad?

Yet, she told the girl with pitying eyes in front of her, in between ugly sobs and sniffles, she promised him that she'd do her best. And she will, she really will, starting tomorrow, after she cried out all that she could that night.

She fell asleep sometime later, tired beyond words. Her hand felt cold and empty.

* * *

AN: I love you, Momo. I'm sorry for hurting you T_T  
TodoMomo is one of my favourite things, as well as TodoDeku but in my opinion, the way he is in the canon story, I don't think Todoroki is ready to accept anyone in his life in that way. Obvs Endeavor-related trauma and all. T_T I am wishing the best for him!  
Next up: Jirou!


	6. I Haven't Changed At All

**Yes  
** Chapter 6: I Haven't Changed At All

* * *

Jirou Kyoka had her eyes closed as the ear-jack connected to her PC transmitted her latest audio project back to her ear. The familiar melody played just as how she imagined it, the rhythm flawless, the guitars tight. All it needed was her words and her voice, and technically the song would be done and she could upload it to her SoundSky account, where her fans were waiting on her next big hit.

But it wasn't good enough. Her music sounded flawless as it always did, but it didn't feel _right._ Not a single sound that she produced with any of the obsessively-tuned instruments kept in her dorm room felt right these past few days. Frustrated, she growled and shut the program off, her finger going down on her mouse more strongly than she intended.

Her desktop wallpaper featuring the UA logo stared back at her dully. She did not have the will to do other important things, like homework. She felt more awful and sorry about herself. The minutes passed mercilessly. Before she could stop herself, she was reaching out for her favorite 4-string bass and cradled its body over her thigh, her fingers going into position on pure muscle memory alone.

Mindlessly, she strummed a wordless melody, which eventually evolved into one of her favorite songs. She closed her eyes, allowed herself to get lost in the music. She felt her mouth moving automatically and felt the words float out of her chest,

 _Slow dance with you, I just wanna slow dance with you._  
 _I know all the other boys are tough and smooth, and I've got the blues._  
 _I wanna slow dance with you._

She continued plucking the thick strings, focusing on the pressure on her fingers, letting the deep thrum echo within her body. She tried not to think about a certain girl in a certain fancy, cramped room above her own; she tried not to remember how _helpless_ she felt watching such a strong girl crumble, and not being able to do anything to make her feel better. She tried not to remember the way her blood boiled upon seeing the reason _why_ said girl crumbled, just waltz into class the next day and next to her as if nothing happened.

As quickly as her blood boiled, she realized the futility of her anger, and her blood ran cold. She felt her energy drain away from her. _Enough. That's enough for tonight, Kyoka._ Sighing, she opened her eyes and lifted her bass off herself…

… and came face-to-face with Kaminari Denki's dopey stare. "Yo!" he greeted with a small wave of his hand.

She shrieked and stabbed his eyes with both ear-jacks.

"What the hell, Jirou!" he cried, rubbing his eyes frantically post-impact. "Is that how you greet all your late night visitors? How are all the girls in class not blinded yet? One day you're gonna gouge an actual eyeball out and you'll be sorry!"

"If it's your eyeball, I won't be sorry! Heck, I'd show off your eyeball to the rest of the class!" She scowled as she carefully placed her bass guitar back on its stand, muttering a number of colorful curses along the way. Kaminari, who had the audacity to sit at the edge of her bed with his bare feet up, infuriatingly stayed put. "How the hell did you even break into my room? I'm pretty sure I locked it!"

The blonde boy shrugged. "All the locks here are electronic. It was only a matter of time before I, the electrical genius Chargebolt, figured out how to hack 'n crack through all the Heights Alliance doors with impressive stealth and style!"

Jirou raised one judgy eyebrow at him. "How many locks did you destroy before you figured it out?"

"... about fifteen." Her judgy gaze didn't waver. "I just practiced on _mine,_ okay?! And Iida helped me fix it without telling on any of the teachers! I just told him that it was an accident!"

Amazing how Iida bought that lie repeatedly. He was either very tenacious, very trusting, or very convinced that Kaminari was stupid enough to destroy his door knob with his quirk fifteen times. Jirou rolled her eyes. "I'm telling Aizawa-sensei."

"Nooo, don't throw me under the bus Jirou, I thought we were cooooool," he whined dramatically, clinging on to her arm. "I promise I won't use it for bad things like peeping and stealing underwear! I SWEAR. With great power comes great responsibility and all that. Nobody else-especially not Mineta-will take advantage of this technique but you and me!"

"Forget it, Jammin' Whey. I'm calling the cops on you. Nice knowing ya bud." Jirou grunted and pushed the blonde's face away with one strong arm. He kept whining and pleading and promising her that if he hypothetically used his ability to break into banks and shit, she'd have a 50% cut, no questions asked. She tried to keep her face angry and pissed, but he put on such a stupid dopey face that before she knew it, she lost control and she was snorting so vigorously her nostrils started to hurt.

Kaminari stopped mid-whine to grin up at her. "Hey, she's finally smiling! It's been 84 years…"

"Shut up." Much as she tried though, the smile on her face didn't last very long. She allowed herself to collapse next to him on the bed, her back falling and bouncing off the cushions. As she had done these past few nights, she found herself gazing wistfully at her very plain ceiling. She would have kept at it until daybreak, if Kaminari's head didn't suddenly obstruct her view.

"So," he began, pointedly ignoring the grumpy sound she made to shoo him away. "Care to tell me why you shut yourself in your room to sing nothing but sad lesbian songs?"

"No. Why do _you_ care?"

He made a long humming noise. "I dunno, 'cos I can't _stand_ to see the great Jirou Kyoka looking the way she did when she first found out that My Chemical Romance disbanded? Which is abject misery and despair? Which is how your face looked like a couple of days ago? And yesterday? And, I dunno, right now? Have you been hanging out in the same abyss where Tokoyami plays Uno by himself, or what?"

"Jesus," grumbled Jirou. She reached for a pillow and let it flop over her face. "Doesn't a miserable lesbian like me have the right to hang out in any abyss she chooses? 'Specially now that she found out that the girl she likes is heartbroken over the stupid school pretty boy?"

She heard Kaminari mumble out a soft _yikes._ She hated that even he would resort to a _yikes_ of that caliber, and hated it even more that she agreed. "Well, I guess you do have the right to be miserable. But, ya know, just wanted to let you know that neither of us is having fun watching you do it."

"Don't care." She rolled over, kept her head sandwiched between her pillow and mattress, and pointedly turned her back to Kaminari. "If you're not having fun, you are welcome to jump off a fuckin' cliff. Do me a solid and take _Baka_ roki with you. Please and thank you."

She heard the sound of Kaminari losing his shit for the next minute. "Oh my god, Bakaroki, I can't fuckin' breathe Jirou! I can't believe how much you hate my very good Buddyroki~! He's just trying his best like the rest of us, ya know…"

She ground her teeth bitterly. She knew that despite the misery and pain that Momo went through because of Todoroki Shouto, neither of them seemed to be at fault. She confessed. He took his time to give her a good answer. He said no. She understood. She said that they should stay friends. He said yes. End of story.

It's been a few days since then, and at least to each others' faces and to the rest of the class, they acted as if nothing happened between them. But within such a short time, Jirou watched Momo skip one meal after the other and make more mistakes in their standard classes than usual-not so much that her grades went down, but just enough to make Jirou worry.

The hero classes were especially hellish. Because of her dramatic loss of appetite, Momo barely had enough lipids on her to create a decent weapon that didn't shatter after one or two strikes. Aizawa-sensei had her sit on the bench to eat a mountain of rice balls by herself, but even that was painful to watch. Two bites was all it took before she started gagging. It was some small comfort that Todoroki's life-threatening spars with Bakugou and Deku on the other side of the training grounds kept him from paying attention to Momo, and he appeared blissfully oblivious to her troubles.

Which just. Really, really, really pissed her off. "It's not fair that he's the only one who's okay." She didn't like how whiny her voice sounded then, but hearing Kaminari's understanding hum gave her courage to continue. "Momo's having such a hard time pretending that she's okay for him. And she really _isn't_ okay. Not at all. Even though I've been here all this time for her, even though I tried my best to make her feel better, to forget about him… she couldn't just forget about him."

"It hasn't been that long, Jirou," said Kaminari softly. She scowled. It wasn't everyday that the boy made sense, and she didn't like that this was one of those days.

"I don't care. Momo's wasting away just the same. And I couldn't do anything to keep her from being sad. It's fucking _unfair._ He should… he should suffer a little bit too, shouldn't he?"

Something irritating stung at the corners of her eyes. She was thankful that she hid her face away from the blonde, and thankful that she could muffle the sniffles that were beginning to build up inside her. As she pressed her face resolutely against the cushions, she felt Kaminari restlessly shifting from the other side of the mattress.

"So… if you really want to get back at Todoroki that bad…" He made an exaggerated thinking noise and snapped his fingers in pure enlightenment. "I got it! Let's prank him."

She blinked within the darkness of her pillow sandwich. Prank him? Prank Todoroki Shouto, the Half-Head Prince, the Boy With Perpetual Emotional Constipation?

She slowly sat up to face Kaminari, puffy eyes and all. "That… actually doesn't sound like the worst idea."

"Please look at the mirror. That smeared mascara and that look of pure evil is top grade nightmare fuel."

Jirou wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and asked, "Better?" Even when Kaminari shook his head vehemently with a loud _hell no_ , she shrugged and gestured for him to come closer. She tented her fingers in front of her with the most villainous look she could muster and said, "Tell me more about this… _prank_ of yours, Denki-kun."

"F-u-ck, I did _not_ enjoy you calling me Denki-kun as much as I thought I would. Can't you try being just a little bit cute? I'm begging you here," muttered Kaminari, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. Jirou had to prod the middle of his forehead with her ear-jack for him to stop whining and to get back on topic. "So… like I told ya, I've been playing around with my quirk, right? I've experimented in my room enough times to figure out the intricacies of the wiring and such. More or less."

He placed his palm on Jirou's wall, and the lights flickered on and off so suddenly that Jirou gasped. Kaminari smirked at her and showed off further, letting her lights blink on and off in dots and dashes expertly without compromising the supply to her personal computer. "As long as I can guess which ones are plugged where, I can manipulate the power supply of any object. Cool, eh?"

She felt the gears in her head turning. Yes, this could work. It might sound stupid and childish. Might actually _be_ stupid and get them in trouble, if the overconfident smile on Kaminari's face was any indication.

But, hell, she needed to do this. She tried so hard with Momo, and all she had to show for it was a bottomless pit of frustration in her heart. Making Todoroki suffer was her only way out of that pit. "I've been practicing my quirk too. Check this out." Kaminari leaned closer to her and watched as she plugged one ear-jack on her phone, and the other against the wall. She opened her Dotify and clicked on the first song she saw.

She watched in satisfaction as the opening scream and blare of guitars of one of Deep Dope's popular heavy metal songs blasted from the wall next to Kaminari's right ear, causing him to jump five feet in the air. "Whooooa! That's awesome!"

"Right?" Jirou adjusted the ear-jack on the wall slightly, making the source of the sound shift a little to the left, a little to the right, and up the ceiling. A diabolical plan forming in her head, she allowed a diabolical smile grace her lips. "Now, imagine if it was ghosts sounds or zombies or something. You think that guy's gonna be able to sleep well on his fancy tatami floor?"

"Ah, so we're going for a haunting prank, huh? I likey," said Kaminari, rubbing one scheming hand on his chin. "Really classic, really classic. This'll bring out the Scaredyroki in Todoroki no doubt, no doubt. So how are we goin' about this?"

"All right," began Jirou, looking at the excited Kaminari right in the eye. "Here's the plan."

* * *

Kaminari claimed that he knew Todoroki well enough to know his usual evening routine. He would study in his room until dinnertime, come down at around 8 PM to eat something, which could only be either cold soba or ochazuke. He'd sit in the common room couch for approximately 30-45 minutes to observe what his classmates happened to be doing at that time while sipping tea. Afterwards, he'd excuse himself and go back up to his room, where Kaminari presumed that he did "monk-ly" things like meditating or chanting surtras or something.

(In other words, he was about as boring as Jirou expected.)

The plan was simple enough. Based on Todoroki's routine, they'd wait for when their prey would go up to his room alone. They would then make sure that everybody's distracted enough in the common room so that nobody would stop them. (Should be easy, said Kaminari, 'cause it was movie night and most everyone agreed to marathon the Avengers, for Hero class purposes too). Finally, they'd carry out the plan right outside Todoroki's door. Kaminari would make the lights flicker on and off, and Jirou would transmit scary noises in random points in his room. They'd keep this up for as long as they need, until either Todoroki screams, runs out of the room, or encases himself in an ice block, whichever comes first.

Jirou let Kaminari get excited over their 100% no-fail scheme, but she knew Todoroki well enough that ghost sounds wouldn't elicit enough of a reaction from him. She searched for something else on YouTube and came across a certain video that she was _sure_ would get the Half-and-Half Prince to react.

 _Let's keep this a surprise._ She tucked her phone in her hoodie's pocket and waited.

On the screen, Captain America was pulling a helicopter down with one arm. Most of the class were then focused on a fierce debate on whether or not All Might could do a similar maneuver to a fighter jet. Not so subtly, Kaminari leaned in super close to Jirou and harshly whispered, "Target's almost finished with his old man tea! I repeat, target's almost-"

She nudged him squarely in the ribs for being too frickin' obvious. As he choked in pain, she saw Sero and Kirishima, who were seated on the same couch as they were, turn to them curiously. "Uh. You guys all right?" asked the red-head lightly through a mouth full of popcorn.

"No. Kaminari needs a new brain," deadpanned Jirou, earning her an offended noise from the blonde.

"That's a longstanding problem if I've ever seen one," replied Sero in the same deadpan.

"Wow you guys. What kinda sick joke is this thing we call friendship, huh?!" Kaminari whined, reaching over Kirishima's popcorn bowl to throw a handful at the taller guy. This earned him a lot of offended shushes, and an affronted ' _mon dieu!'_ from Aoyama, who sat near Sero's feet and thus earned himself a head full of popcorn.

"Good luck finding a brain donor, man." In a natural way that only Sero could pull off, he picked out the kernels from Aoyama's head one by one and popped them into his mouth, oblivious to the deep red coloring and sparkles that suddenly overwhelmed their sparkliest classmate.

Jirou turned away-that might be an interesting story for another day. For now, though, their target was out of tea. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Deku tried in vain to make Todoroki stay for the entirety of the film, and kept watching as the latter shook his head and turned to walk out of the common room.

She nudged Kaminari more gently, and tapped a short message on her phone. _Mission start._

As planned, they left one after the other after letting a tactful period of time. Jirou claimed she was tired, while Kaminari said that he needed to take a huge dump. And as planned, they met up outside Todoroki's door. Kaminari had the biggest smile on his face and was actually _squirming_ in excitement as they crouched stealthily in position.

 _"_ We're doin' this, eh?" he said, one hand already on the wall. "Are the sounds ready?"

Jirou nodded resolutely and pulled her phone out. _Okay. This is it. Let's see if he can withstand this one,_ she thought wickedly to herself, as her ear-jacks went in position. "Okay… ready when you-"

To her surprise, Kaminari suddenly had a concerned frown on his face. "Wait, what's that video?" Before she could stop him, the boy grabbed her phone from her grasp and stared at the screen in shock. "H-hey, this isn't what we agreed on. Dude, you can't play this."

"What? Why not? Come on, it'll freak him out better than those stupid special effects," said Jirou, more surprised that Kaminari would so suddenly back out from such a brilliant prank. But he continued shaking his head vehemently, even attempted to pull out her ear-jack from her phone until Jirou kept it away from his reach. "Denki, come on, don't back out on me now."

"No way. This is… this is foul." This was the first time ever that he gave Jirou such a disappointed look, and needless to say she was stunned. He pointed to the screen, which was poised to play _Hero Endeavour [Todoroki Enji] Screams For 10 Hours_ on YouTube _._ "We can't play that one, Jirou. You know he isn't okay with his old man. You don't wanna open up that can of worms."

"What the-since when do you care about Todoroki?" Red hot irritation began to rise from Jirou's chest. She kept pulling her phone just outside his reach. It infuriated her that he was being weirdly righteous about this, and that he was being weirdly _persistent_ about protecting that guy. As if he needed further protecting.

"No-just-Jirou, put it this way, if Yaomomo finds out you did this, then-"

"Shut the fuck up, fucking Kaminari! You fuckin' traitor! What the FUCK do you know about Momo?!"

Kaminari froze. Jirou clasped her mouth with both hands. Her phone dropped to the floor.

She didn't mean to scream.

The indescribable look on Kaminari's face made her take two steps back. She breathed heavily and kept both hands over her mouth, trying not to let the overwhelming shame weaken her shaking limbs any furhter.

She really didn't mean to scream at Kaminari. Not like that.

The door opened, revealing a surprised and mildly concerned Todoroki Shouto. He let his gaze fall over Kaminari first, and then Jirou. "Um," he uttered awkwardly, obviously already regretting opening the door and walking right into a quarrel. "Are things… okay out here?"

Momentarily shocked into silence, the two red-handed perpetrators stared at each other dumbly. "Oh-Buddyroki!" Kaminari waved his arms, as if physically waving all the awkward air away. "We were just… just… arguing about…"

He trailed off and paled when Todoroki bent over to pick up Jirou's fallen phone. He stepped one foot clumsily in a failed effort to stop the taller boy from seeing the screen. "Endeavor? What are you guys doing with-"

Jirou felt her arms moving by themselves. Somehow she barreled forward and pushed Todoroki away, making him drop the phone. She heard the boy grunt at the pressure, and it was only then that she realized that she couldn't stop herself from pushing him. She felt one cold and one warm hand grasp her frailer arms firmly. She kept at it, keeping her eyes to the floor, her teeth clenching hard until her jaw felt sore.

"Jirou! Jirou, that's enough. Jirou." Somewhere in her fit of rage, she heard Kaminari call out to her in a voice that was much gentler than she deserved. She felt a different pair of strong arms embrace her from behind, felt them pull her gently away from the red-and-white boy in front of her.

When she looked up, she saw that Todoroki was staring at her, a mixture of confusion and shock, but not anger, plain in his mismatched eyes. It was clear that despite her aggression, he had no desire to fight back, and was instead more concerned about what was happening to her face. "You're… crying…"

"I'm not." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and internally cursed when she noted the dampness.

She ignored Kaminari's soft, comforting _heys._ She kept rubbing at her eyes, kept her jaw clenched so as not to let the stupid sob from inside her chest from escaping. What was the goal of this stupid plan again? Why was she so dead-set on making Todoroki Shouto suffer so much? Why the hell was she crying so much over a prank gone wrong?

As she struggled to stop the tears from flowing, she heard the boy in question speak in such an uncharacteristic soft and apologetic voice that she wasn't sure if she was hearing him correctly, or if hell froze over in the next minute. "I'm sorry, Jirou. I really am."

It was simple. So fucking simple, yet with those words, Jirou suddenly understood that she was wrong. That it wasn't just Momo who was suffering through this. That it wasn't just… Jirou, who was suffering the most out of this. And suddenly the guilt was too much for her to bear.

Without looking back, she walked away from them. She didn't stop walking until she was out of that suffocating hallway, out of the suffocating common room, out of the suffocating dorm. She didn't stop until she was out in the cold night, until all she heard were the sounds of concrete thudding dully under her feet, the winds in the trees, and the troubled beating of her stupid, tired heart.

* * *

Somehow, as he always does, Kaminari found her on a bench in the nearby park, sulking silently with her ears plugged in to one of her favorite heavy metal playlists. She didn't look up immediately when she saw his shadow come closer to her, but gave him the courtesy of unplugging her ears from her soothing music.

"Aizawa-sensei's gonna kill us if those robots catch us out here. It's after curfew," was all he said. He held out a can of hot vending machine coffee out to her.

She took the coffee gratefully, cold hands curling around the warm tin. The caffeine that tickled her nostrils after she snapped the cover open made her chest feel a little lighter. Kaminari wasn't always the sharpest crayon in the box, she surmised, but when it came to Jirou he somehow seemed to know what to do.

She didn't feel ready to talk, she didn't feel like being with anybody else right then, she wanted to brood about her bad decisions alone. Yet, she shifted in her seat to let the boy drop next to her, which he did silently. She saw him stuff his hands in his pockets and lean his head back, face to the sky. He didn't seem to want to say anything either.

Or, more likely, he was waiting for her to get ready to speak. She sipped the coffee, praying that the extra shot of caffeine will sort out the mess in her head.

It barely did anything. All she really knew for sure was that at some point, she was sad, and angry, and cold, and really, really tired. "I… I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm like this. I'm an idiot. A big idiot," she concluded.

He laughed. "I'll always be a bigger idiot than you, though."

"No arguing there." She swirled her coffee around absentmindedly. "Hey, Kaminari. Remember the day I rejected you?"

A ridiculous expression fell over his face. "Um, yeah, I remember. Why bring that up now?"

Jirou breathed in deeply, shaking slightly. "Do you think you felt as messed up as I do right now? Because if you are… I'm super sorry."

He shook his head calmly. "It's okay. All I remember was me crying, you cursing, and us fighting over who'll get a girlfriend first." Jirou allowed herself to snort, earning her another comforting smile from the boy. She quietly appreciated his ability to make her laugh despite the situation.

She noticed him regard her thoughtfully as her laughter faded away naturally. She heard him inhale softly. "It's okay if you're feeling messed up, Jirou. You're dealing with a broken heart, after all," he said quietly, all traces of humor suddenly gone from his voice.

"Don't… don't say something so stupid…" Without meaning to, her grip on her coffee tightened, and something warm came out of the corners of her eyes, and it was getting harder to breathe.

"Hey, don't say that. It's not stupid to feel that way." She felt one hand on her back. She suddenly remembered how tired she felt. She leaned into him closer, rested her head on his shoulder, and shut her eyes, praying that the stupid tears would just stop falling already.

Momo was… was _perfect._ When she first saw her, she thought that the tall, gentle girl was all she ever wanted. She tried her hardest to stop herself from thinking such flighty thoughts, but she couldn't help it, she loved her, she loved her, she loved her. And even if she did it silently, even if she accepted a role as best friend rather than something more, even though she tried her best to change, her stupid heart just kept yearning.

"... love her…" She heard herself hiccup. The tears that she tried so hard to hold back suddenly flowed so easily out of her damned eyes as if a dam just broke. "I… I love her… I haven't changed at all… I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

Like an idiot, she repeated it over and over to the guy who probably deserved better. She loved her, she loved Momo, and her heart hurt just thinking about it. She buried her face in his shoulder, soaking his warm hoodie with her tears and snot and sweat and drool. She grasped at his shirt so tightly it must have been painful, and all she waited for was for him to push her away and to tell her to stop being so stupid.

But all he did was stroke her back and lend his warmth and made that shoulder stay put. "I know. I know," he said. "Let it all out. I'm here."

 _I know how it feels too,_ he probably muttered at some point, but she didn't hear it.

She let him embrace her just the same.

* * *

AN:I researched memes for this one. As a result I felt really really old when I wrote this chapter. I want to wither away...  
Jirou played "Slow Dance With You" written by Babeo Baggins, and also sang by Olivia Olson as Marceline the Vampire Queen for Adventure Time. This was described by the artist as such: "I wrote slow dance about this girl who didn't like me cause she had a boyfriend lol".  
(I thought it was appropriate haha).  
This was unexpectedly long and unexpectedly hard to write . I'm just hoping that it isn't as awkward as it felt as i wrote it huhuhu. I love how other people write KamiJirou getting together very very naturally but I wanted to try writing this one in a more complex way cos things aren't easy in real life argh  
Thank you for reading! I humbly ask for comments to improve writing further. Am fighting a slump as we speak.

Next three chapters will be about Kirishima, Mina, Iida, Momo, Bakugou, and Uraraka ^^


	7. My Tired Heart

**Yes  
** **Chapter 7: My Tired Heart**

Ashido Mina raised both arms high above her, inhaling sharply and reveling in the feel of her muscles, tendons, and ligaments stretching.

It was just another late afternoon of a particularly __sucky__ school day. A failed pop quiz in English, followed by Present Mic-sensei yelling in her ear during class. Aizawa-sensei pairing her off with that little purple twit Mineta for combat training, and her ending up expending more energy avoiding his inappropriate advances rather than focusing on the fight against Sero and Tokoyami.

(They lost that two-on-two, obviously. Mina even held the fucker down and helped Sero tape him up.)

Finally, spending the rest of the day absorbing all the negative, sad energy between her classmates. Here she thought she would finally enjoy basking in the glow of young love in her class, but so far none of her ships have sailed. Not TodoMomo, which she was __sure__ had at least a 75% chance of sailing. Not the alternative TodoDeku, which devolved into Midoriya just pining nerdily for the class prince along the sidelines.

Not MomoJirou, which was the worst of them all because lunch with the girls just got a little darker. Of course, the girls pretended that everything was fine, but just hanging around them drained Mina of her positive, pink energy. Yaomomo's appetite was worryingly poor, while talking to Kyoka felt like listening to an open mic night attended by angsty college students with too much feelings. On loop.

Mina sighed. She was the type of girl who decided on things by __feel.__ It was too bad that she didn't have a good enough grasp of English to feel which words were right or wrong, and it was just too bad that helping her opponents defeat her teammate was what felt right at that time...

And it was too bad that the air, the __zing__ between her classmates that once felt __right__ to look at, suddenly didn't feel as right. At least, not anymore.

It was precisely then, when the air didn't feel right, when her horns absorbed so much negativity that they began to physically ache, that her normally extroverted self hid herself from plain sight for some much-needed alone time.

And right now was the perfect time. By some odd miracle, everybody else was training elsewhere, and she had the 1A dorm gym all to herself. Time to shake off the bad vibes, Mina!

She stretched her torso to the left and felt the muscles on her right side strain against the pressure. She kept an eye on her form, clad in a functional green sports bra and purple leggings, reflected in the mirrors. She continued her stretching and warm-up exercises and felt better as her heart rate went up and the scent of her own acid-laced sweat filled her nostrils.

She went over to her phone hooked to speakers and opened a playlist filled with her favorite K-Pop dance songs. A familiar beat began to play, and she let her body move on its own.

Mina was no stranger to dance-heck, she taught a few people how to move back in middle school. It was one of those things that just felt __right__ to her. But since she started high school, she didn't have many chances to do this thing she really loved. There was probably a dance club, but she didn't have enough time in between doing extra training after school and catching up to her acads.

Shame, though. Maybe she should go try out for dance club. She looked good. Her body felt better. She let her shoulders roll and her knees bend and her feet step this way and that, and her hips gyrate. The awfulness she had to suffer through that day felt farther and farther with each flex of her limb, and she let herself move more and more.

The movements became more complex as the music changed. Feeling the endorphins coursing through her blood, she dropped to one side, one arm bent under her, one leg kicking high up in the air, the other one following suit. She spun herself, increasing her speed, feeling the exhilaration of the movement, and then kicking herself onto a handstand.

"I still got it," she said, congratulating herself in her head. At the same time, she heard someone clapping from behind her.

She lifted herself up off the floor and landed on her feet. "Kirishima!"

Really, the sight of this boy made of sun rays was enough to brighten any dark mood, even when he wore dark gloomy clothes like the dark grey shirt and black sweatpants that he was coincidentally wearing then. "Hey, Ashido! Damn girl, you looked so cool doing that handstand-oof!"

"Horn buddy!" She didn't even realize it, but she had rushed to the boy and, like the least discreet guerrilla ever, ambushed him with a hug. After regaining his balance, Kirishima wrapped his sturdy arms around her and kicked up the endorphin levels in her bloodstream a notch higher. "Did you see it? Did you see me kill that move?!"

"Sure did." The redhead was grinning at her warmly, and she instantly felt warmer for it. It was like sipping a warm pumpkin spice latte on a cool day. It's a comfort that she needed on a day like this. "You were like, __whoooa,__ and then you were like, __whooeee,__ and I was like, __whaaa?!"__

Mina guffawed at his very invigorating rendition. "I don't really get it, but thanks!"

"What? I could not have been clearer. You were awesome. You were __manly.__ " Ah, the Kirishima equivalent of __rightness.__ She beamed as he gave her a thumbs up. "To be honest, watching you made me feel a little better. I was having a rough day."

"Join the club." The pink girl exhaled exaggeratedly and let her shoulders fall. "I mean, I failed Mic-sensei's stupid test, I lost in today's stupid two on two because of stupid Mineta trying to commit a sexual crime while fighting, and my stupid friends are giving me bad vibes-"

Kirishima interrupted, "Oi, __which__ stupid friends?"

"The usually un-stupid ones. In other words, not the Bakusquad." Mina laughed and caught a playful fist that the redhead threw at her with her own hand. "… sorry for saying that. None of you guys are stupid."

Of course. Everyone's just trying their best to cope, she guessed, even her sad girls. She wasn't going to blame them for reacting the way they did. She was, instead, going to give them time.

"I get what you mean. Sometimes you just need a breather from everyone else, huh," he said almost wistfully.

This made her tilt her head in concern. The most positive boy she knew suddenly feeling down, for any reason, was unusual. It was one of those things that weren't __right__. Seeing this activated Mina's very normal human instinct of making sure that Kirishima Eijirou was okay. "Hey, you aren't going back to your dark middle school phase, are you?"

When she didn't stop giving him that look of concern, Kirishima just kept smiling. In a fragile way, perhaps, but at least it was a real smile. "No way. It's… I'm good, okay? Just had… some stupid stuff to think about," he answered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"Hey. You… wanna talk about it?"

"I'll be fine after I work out, promise," was all he said. Mina noticed that he kept his eyes to the ground, and then to the miscellaneous gym equipment at the other side of the area. "I'll just be over there. Don't let me distract you."

Well, Mina was having none of that. Without warning, she grabbed both of his hands. "Don't do any of that boring stuff. I know what you need to do!"

Kirishima made a cute, surprised sound as Mina pulled him to the center of the dance floor. "What? Hey, bodybuilding isn't boring, it's manly! Where are you taking me?"

She smiled at him deviously. "If you, my fave red-head, won't talk to me about it, then you are gonna let your body do the talking!"

The so-called fave red-head made another nervous noise. Ah, it's frickin' adorable. She could listen to it all day. "Ashido, come on, I can't dance," he stammered, and of course Mina pointedly ignored his complaint.

As they reached the spot where the pink-haired girl wanted them to be, the song transitioned to one of her favorites. She smiled as the Korean words started floating in the air, like feathers,

 _ _All this is no coincidence  
Just, just by my feeling  
The whole world is different from yesterday-__

"Sure you can. You know how to fight, dontcha?" Mina arranged him, so to speak, to stand next to her with his feet shoulder-width apart in front of the mirrors. She hopped to the spot next to him and stood in the same way.

"Yeah, so how is this the same as fighting?"

"If you know how to fight, you know how to move. Dancing is just moving in a way that looks good." She moved her hips side to side fluidly, "Don't think about it too much. Just do as I do."

She didn't have to pressure him any further. Kirishima mimicked her movements her simplified movements, his jaw clenching as he thought about each stretch of the arm and each step of the foot. He was a little awkward, but surprisingly not __that__ awkward, although he was obviously overthinking it. Mina knew that if she spent a little more time teaching him, he'd be pretty good at it too.

 _ _A little more time with him wouldn't be bad at all.__ "See?" She raised both arms and did a slamming movement over her chest, mimicking a heart-beat. When Kirishima did it, his heavy hands smacked so loudly against his broad chest that the sound echoed in their space, followed by a small sound of surprise. Mina giggled at this movement.

"Try to be a little gentler," she chided just as gently. She delicately swung her arms to both sides and stepped one foot diagonally backwards to demonstrate.

"... okay… I feel really, really ridiculous, though!" He tried to soften his movements, and again, to her surprise, he was able to do just that. Pretty unexpected for a guy who has Hardening as a quirk.

She laughed, "You look fine! Like I said… don't think about it too much."

They looked good together. They __really__ looked good together. She watched their forms in the mirror as they mirrored each other's movements, and with a smile of satisfaction, she watched as he began to lose his apprehension of looking ridiculous next to her, and instead just. Danced.

 _ _Just let me love, you.__

As the song ended, Mina twirled her body to meet his, and, as if he knew what to do from the very start, he caught her in his arms. Trying not to be too distracted about the hardness and the warmth of his chest and his arms, she smiled up at him and raised her eyebrows.

"So… you feeling any better?" she asked him teasingly.

"... a little," he admitted. He let her hop to a standing position next to him. The absence of his body heat from hers was all too apparent when she turned to face him once more.

"... so… are you ready to talk about it now?" she ventured again, a little more carefully this time.

The pensive look on his face, paired with that fragile smile, returned. He released a sigh. "Mind if we sit?"

They dropped on the floor, him with his legs crossed and her with her legs tucked underneath her. She patiently waited as he watched his face contort into a number of interesting expressions, all of them either confused or unreadable, none of them ridiculous or jocular, so much so that watching him quietly made the apprehensive feelings in her magnify.

What was it that bugged him so? And they hung out everyday, and she __watched__ him everyday, teased him everyday. Wasn't she the one who's supposedto make sure that he'd remain happy and positive and __smiling,__ as his one and only Horn Buddy? Why didn't she notice that something wasn't __right__ with him?

"Don't laugh," he finally began, releasing another breath as he struggled to find the words within him, "but I'm like. Stupid in-love with someone right now. Have been, for longer than I've ever liked someone ever."

Mina bit her lip until it stung, but didn't say anything. Instead she counted the seconds in between breaths, tried to keep herself still and calm, and waited for him to continue.

"And I know it's impossible that… __that__ person will feel the same way for me." He shrugged, resigning himself to the tragedy. "And there's no way for me to tell that person anything, because… I'd be hated. I feel like I'd __die__ if I was hated by them. So… I have to stay quiet and be a stupid lovesick idiot somewhere private." He laughed bitterly at this.

"... I see." Mina felt her hands clench and unclench on her lap, and she wondered why her entire body felt heavy and restless and __wrong__. He obviously didn't want to share any more than that, and truth be told, she didn't feel brave enough to listen to the rest of it.

She lifted her eyes away from them and forced herself to look at him, even though it was getting more difficult by the second. "That sucks," she added, more to break the heavy silence that bore down on both of them then.

"... yeah," he concurred, a shaky, awkward laughter escaping from his chest. The look on his face was __heartbreaking,__ in a word. It was so sad, it was unjust. Kirishima Eijirou, sunshine personified, shouldn't look this way, for any reason, ever.

She racked her brain for something smart or profound to say. Anything to comfort him. But apart from __what about me, I've liked you since middle school__ or __forget about that person and date me instead__ , there was nothing there. Nothing but her own selfish thoughts and desires. So she decided not to speak instead.

Wordlessly, Mina reached out for his hand and squeezed it tightly. He only nodded at this quiet gesture, and squeezed her hand back.

"You know… I'll be fine after a while. I'll get over it. Trust me." He tried another smile then, one that tried to be strong, really tried.

This time, Mina decided to mirror him. She merely nodded. She decided not to speak. __Mina, you have to let this go,__ she thought in the most mature voice she could muster for herself in her head. __Don't be selfish. He needs you right now. As a friend.__

But when he moved to stand up, her stubborn hand didn't let go.

He stared at her in curiosity and let himself fall to the floor again.

"... Ashido?"

"You've… known me since middle school, right?" What was she saying? What was she __doing?__ "You… should call me Mina."

The confusion in Kirishima's face not going away, he said, cautiously for some reason, "Okay… Mina?"

Her heart jumped a little at those two stupid syllables in his voice. What was she doing? What was she bracing herself for? "I'm… going to do something stupid. Just… stop me if you… don't want to do the stupid thing with me."

"Well… okay, but what-"

Here she was, doing things by feel, and not really by thinking about it, like a decent person would. So, needless to say, she wasn't __thinking__ when she pushed her face forward and pushed her lips to his so suddenly.

She heard the muffled yelp of surprise from his mouth, felt the vibration of the unintelligible words from his lips. She felt a thrill in her chest, and goosebumps over her arms, and the warmth on her cheeks. She felt his mouth relax, felt it open slightly, felt it push against her with urgency.

 _ _He was kissing her back__. He was kissing her back, like he was in those multitude of daydreams that she had of him. A hand went up her face carefully to touch her burning skin, and while it should have felt exciting, and heavenly, and real…

… it didn't feel __right.__

She let go of his mouth then, and felt his utter lack of protest. She felt the air shift around her face as Kirishima dropped her hand from her face.

"... sorry," she whispered, and she really meant it. While she tried to look up at him, to see if she hurt him in any way or worsened the burden he was already carrying, the shame was too much for her to bear. Her eyes instead darted to her hands, still clenching and unclenching over her lap restlessly.

"Hey. Don't worry about it. I'm sorry too." His voice was every bit as gentle as it __shouldn't__ be, and she knew that she didn't deserve this kind of kindness from him. "Mina. It's fine, okay? Look at me."

But before she could raise her eyes to meet those crimson ones she liked so much, a different voice cut through the air, instantly straightening both their backs in shock. "Oi, Soy Sauce Face, the fuck are you standin' around the door for?"

Widening to impossible widths, red eyes and black eyes turned in horror to see Sero, whose face was red and whose jaw was practically dropped on the floor.

There was a fleeting moment when his dark eyes settled on Mina's, pure confusion and bafflement and conflict reflected on them, before he forced his gaze away from them. "Ah. Nothing. I-"

"Move your ass! You too, Round-Face!" Stomping noises soon overrode whatever Sero stammered afterward, and the unmistakable fire and dynamite essence of Bakugou Katsuki entered the fray. He gave the two of them a cursory glare, even as Kirishima jumped right on his feet. "Oi, Shitty Hair," he growled. It was the closest thing to a greeting that anyone would ever get, and only Kirishima seemed to get that treatment.

"Hey bro. Uh, you and Uraraka training again today, huh."

Mina bit the inside of her cheek when she heard how different his voice suddenly sounded, as if nothing happened just then.

Bakugou made a standard angry Bakugou noise. He glared at the doorway, where true enough, Ochako ambled in lazily, purposefully ticking the explosive blonde off. "Yeah, if she hurries the fuck up and stop wasting my fuckin' time!"

"Geez, Bakugou! Could you please chill? I bet your blood pressure's higher than my grampa's."

"If I wanted to chill, I'd hang out in the morgue! That's where your body's gonna be if you screw up today!"

The argument continued between the two, even as they did warm up exercises side-by-side. Next to her, she watched as Kirishima give that fragile gaze in that general direction, and things in her head clicked.

 _ _Ah. So that's the way it is.__

"Hey, I'll go back to working out there," said the redhead, pointing his thumb towards the equipment he abandoned moments ago. He opened his mouth hesitantly once, before carefully saying, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Mina."

"... Yes. No problem." Mina did her best to give a strong smile, a __right__ smile, hard as it was to do. She stood up and rubbed the dust off her leggings, willing her sticky regrets to fall along with them. She collected her things and willed her heart not to feel so terrible as she did so.

After an awkward wave goodbye to all of her classmates, she started walking back with her eyes to the floor.

The feeling of awkwardness and shame didn't go away when she realized she had to spend more than a few moments next to Sero. She looked at him questioningly, and it was apparent then that he still couldn't look her in the eye. "… I left something in the dorm," was all he said. The usual grin on his mouth wasn't there.

She knew the taller boy was lying, of course. Looking at her or Kirishima in the eye must be difficult right now. She almost wanted to apologize. "Okay," she replied instead, keeping her eyes to the floor.

Before they curved to the hallway, Sero stopped in his tracks. Mina turned to him curiously and watched as his face went through concerning stages of confusion. "So… you and Kirishima," he finally mustered, in a voice that was an odd mix of cryptic and sincere, without an ounce of humor or sarcasm his voice was usually loaded with.

The pink-haired girl stared back at him with the blankest look she could muster, which probably wasn't blank at all judging by the look on Sero's face. She sighed. "Sorry you had to see that, Sero," she answered softly.

"No way, I'm sorry, I mean, it's your business who you want to date or kiss or whatever, but maybe next time-"

"We aren't, though."

Sero's eyes widened in surprise. "No?" he asked cautiously, and Mina shook her head. "Oh."

Another awkward silence ensued after that. She didn't like this, why didn't she think this through? Sero was one of her closest, chillest friends, and she didn't want things to change just because she was stupid and impulsive and he had the worst timing in the world. Mina gripped her gym bag a little tighter. "... I'm not. Gonna make it weird tomorrow, at school or wherever, if that's what you're worried about."

"Yeah." Sero sighed and mumbled a low __yareyare.__ "I guess this is just one of those things that I didn't see."

"Please," she said, sighing in resignation. "And I promise it won't happen again."

The taller boy shrugged, not inconsiderately, and looked at her again. A beat of thoughtful silence passed, before he finally said, "Ashido… I'm here if you need to talk about anything. Okay?"

It was too weird seeing __Sero,__ of all people, call out her name in such concern, look at her with such serious eyes. Maybe that's how awful and fucked-up she seemed then. She forced herself to nod, and without any ounce of subtlety whatsoever, dashed away from the awkward situation with her eyes on the floor.

Later on, Mina stared at her lone self in the mirror of her room. She moved her limb this way and that in a dance that she thought would make her feel better, but nothing helped. The heaviness, the not-right-ness of that stupid day weighed heavily on her.

"Tired. I'm just tired." She clutched her chest in the fake-heartbeat-stance, remembered the __thud__ of her chest when they danced earlier. She… she needed to get back to normal. She needed to forget these stupid feelings that had been festering in her heart since middle school.

She lay on her bed and closed her eyes and forced herself to dream of different things.

* * *

 **AN:** This was so effin' hard to write. I rewrote this three times-three effin' times, the story line different each time! Aaaah!  
I had a difficult time writing as Mina, for some reason, and I'm just hoping it's not too obvious. And to think I was excited about writing kirimina too T_T Reading a little bit more about her to get into it made me appreciate her more as a really strong character, though, and I'm just hoping it'll be easier for me to write her next time :)  
If you're curious, the song she dances to is "Serendipity" by BTS' Jimin. Why that, you ask? Apart from it sounding appropriate for kirimina (on Mina's side) and maybe even Kiribaku (for Kirishima's side), I dunno, she just looked like a KPop fan to me lol.


	8. Maybe, Somehow

**Yes**

 **Chapter 8: Maybe, Somehow**

The 1A classroom was quiet and tidy and almost empty. As much as Iida Tenya liked his classmates and tolerated their rowdy behavior, this was the time of the day that he enjoyed the classroom the most, because he could give his due silent, proper reverence to the room which was pivotal to the growth of many of the heroes he respected.

… or so he tried to tell himself, as his bespectacled eyes befell over the gentle movement of a certain delicate hand that needed to tuck a stray strand of hair behind a delicate ear. He refused to admit that this was his favorite time of the day on his favorite day of the week, just because he and Yaoyorozu Momo-kun tended to meet for class governance related matters at that time.

He also steadfastly refused to admit that he looked forward to that meeting in particular, because Midoriya-kun, Uraraka-kun, and Tsuyu-chan-kun had other things to do, and there was apparently nobody waiting for Yaoyorozu-kun either. In other words, it was just him and her and a pile of hard work. His shoulders tensed in excitement.

"Let's work hard today," she told him with a quiet elegance that no other living thing on the face of the earth could produce, and he found it a little harder to refuse his steadfast train of thought then.

He was at least willing to admit that there were many things he liked about Yaoyorozu Momo-kun. For instance, he liked having her as his-no, not just _his,_ Class 1A's-vice president. She was organized, decisive, serious, cooperative, all those good qualities and more. She was the type of student who separated documents in color-coded plastic files, used page flags and post-its with cute notes and smileys, and tended to use a specific brand of ball point pen with a 0.5mm width to keep her handwriting neat and consistent.

When he commended her for these, she proudly told him that she'd bought her items in a stationery store that she liked, instead of creating them with her quirk. He liked her for that. He liked that she respected the economy.

But that wasn't all- _come on, Iida, surely you realize that it's anemic to say 'I like this girl for respecting the economy!'_ He liked that she was always poised and presentable that he couldn't help but take in all the little details about her when they meet like this.

Yes, that was all. He frequently found himself thanking the other anonymous voter who gave her a vote during class elections and thus propelled her to the role of Vice President.

But that meeting, as much as he secretly looked forward to it, was turning out to be not as ideal and as productive as he'd liked. They were assigned by Aizawa-sensei to form a data grid of all the class members' physical attributes, including compatibilities and incompatibilities with each other, which they should do incognito as part of planning for their next training camp.

However, Yaoyorozu-kun uncharacteristically forgot her share of files in the dorm.

She apologized very profusely, bowing her head so many times that he feared her ponytail would dismantle. Iida reassured her that they could work on it next time, although he knew that this would be a major deviation from their meticulously formed and mutually agreed-upon Gantt Chart. She'd suggested working on it in the common room, but then realized that they couldn't keep it a secret then, and she apologized once more for her silly idea.

"Please worry no further, Yaoyorozu-kun," he said, karate-chopping the space in between them in an effort to stop her from bowing her head like the paw of a Maneki-neko. "Let us focus instead on writing our activity summary for the past cultural festival."

She agreed then, but even that didn't go as smoothly as Iida expected. Yaoyorozu's share of reports had small typos riddled here and there, which was frankly concerning because she was also the type of student who tended to edit her work a minimum of three times before submitting them. Iida corrected these quietly on the spot, until he came across a major error in one of them.

He didn't mean to, but he made a small grumbling noise as he looked over the report in front of him. He saw the ponytail move downward again from the corner of his eye.

".. you're right, I think I made a mistake here," he heard her say across from him. They were looking over the financial reports from the last school festival-certainly an important, crucial activity that required utmost accuracy and care, but not one that warranted this much distress from the vice-president. "I must have messed up in my calculations. I'm sorry, Iida-kun."

She sighed very deeply then, and Iida was reminded of how _exhausted_ she appeared since the beginning of their meeting. He didn't want to acknowledge this, because he had a very annoying inkling of what might have happened to cause this, although Iida didn't tend to talk about other things with her, for professionalism's sake.

"Yaoyorozu-kun, I think we need to wrap up today."

Hearing the tired tone in his voice made her look up. A new glassy sheen covered her onyx eyes. "Oh, but we have so much to do, Iida-kun, we should at least finish the festival paperwork…" She took the report back from him and began to re-do her computations. "I… might have had a little trouble with these, but I can fix all of them now. No need to worry."

She put on a brave smile for him before she focused on her work, the steely glare of determination back again, and he didn't have the wherewithal to stop her.

But he wasn't blind. Seeing the dark circles under her eyes and the lack of the usual glow on her usually dewy skin reminded him of at least twenty terrible injustices in modern society that were slightly less just than the sight before him then.

Yaoyorozu-kun didn't deserve this turmoil, he thought bitterly to himself. As to why he felt so bitter though, he didn't want to acknowledge.

Somehow she pressed on, and it took about an hour before they were able to come up with a comprehensive report that passed both Iida and Yaoyorozu standards. To his relief, it seemed that she was able to push whatever was bothering her to the back of her mind, and she was able to smile 10 times in their meeting, with about 2 of them obviously genuine.

Just like that, their meeting for that day was over, but Iida told her that they needed to meet again later in the weekend, perhaps in the library, to work on their remaining assignment together. She nodded quietly as they walked together to the print room to have the final version printed.

"Everything looks to be in order," said Iida, tapping the sheaf of papers satisfactorily over the counter. Nothing like the sound of a job well done. He raised one arm in salute to the vice president. "It is time for me to pass this to the student council-"

"Iida-kun, I feel terrible about today," she said, cutting him off mid-karate chop. She rubbed one arm bashfully and kept her eyes to the floor.

"It's all right, Yaoyorozu-kun! I do understand that anyone may feel overwhelmed and exhausted given the many responsibilities we have in hero training, school work and such. Even an upstanding student such as yourself."

He didn't always wish that his way of speaking would be less stiff, but even _he_ felt like cringing when he realized that he called a girl he was comforting 'an upstanding student'. As if he was channeling Principal Nezu or something.

A bashful smile was on her face as she replied quietly, "Still, it's no excuse for my mistakes today. I caused you a lot of trouble, Iida-kun."

"Think no more of it," he said, a little quieter this time. "I'd… prefer it if you spent a little more time tonight taking care of yourself."

"Do I look that haggard? Is my skin that hideous, Iida-kun?" she asked, putting one hand to her dewy face in reflex.

"No-of course not-you don't look hideous, heaven forbid, you are the farthest thing from haggard or hideous, I mean-"

Wait, she was laughing. It was a little weak, but she was laughing. And now she was laughing at him stumble over his words like the fool that he was. "It was a joke, Iida-kun. Thank you for your kind words. I do understand your sentiment, but I was hoping to make things up with you by treating you to food before we head back to the dorms."

 _Just the two of us?_ an insolent part of his mind immediately voiced in his head, resulting in an embarrassed choking sound emerging from his mouth.

"Or are you busy?" asked Yaoyorozu in concern. "Because if you are, I understand. It must have been too brazen of me to assume…"

"Let us food!" proclaimed Iida, already marching to the direction of the exits. Only realizing belatedly that a) he forgot about the student council papers, b) he was leaving Yaoyorozu-kun behind, c) he said something nonsensical, and d) he was a big, square-shaped fool.

Luckily, Yaoyorozu only laughed at his tomfoolery and accompanied him to his tasks without a second thought.

* * *

While initially Iida worried about her treating him to an upscale restaurant befitting of a refined girl like her, much to his relief, Yaoyorozu had insisted on treating him to burgers. More specifically, the new Mess Burger that opened within campus.

It was perfect. The most important thing, of course, was that the place was within campus, so they would remain within the safe perimeter of the campus. Furthermore, Iida wouldn't feel too embarrassed about being treated to anything too fancy. Besides, it looked like she was more excited about eating something so middle-class. "I've only ever eaten hamburgers when we go to America for vacation," she said without a hint of boastfulness. "I wonder how local burgers will compare…"

It was comforting to Iida to see that she planned to order a lot. She ordered three types of burgers, three large fries, onion rings, chicken tenders, and a large milkshake. When she turned to him to ask for what he would like, the cashier almost lost his mind. Embarrassed to order anything less than her, for some reason, he loudly declared that he would have exactly the same thing.

"Are you sure?" asked Yaoyorozu in concern, to which he just nodded stubbornly.

And that's how he ended up halfway through his second burger, trying his hardest not to throw up and wishing that he was wearing sweatpants instead of his starched school uniform slacks. Across from him, Yaoyorozu was delicately eating her way through all of her entrees, a bit of her glow coming back to her.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Iida-kun. I couldn't imagine that a locally made American-style hamburger would be so wonderful," she said brightly.

"Th… think nothing of it," he said, struggling not to sound like he wanted to throw up. "Is this your first meal of the day?"

She nodded bashfully. "My… appetite hasn't been the best these past few days. It hasn't been ideal for my quirk. So I have some catching up to do, to be honest."

"I see," said Iida, swallowing a mouthful of meat. He knew about her lack of appetite very well. He had been there during their hero training, after all, and saw how she barely had the will to eat at least one of a mountain of rice balls that Aizawa-sensei was pressuring her to finish.

She had that look of concern on her face once more as she looked at his struggle. "Iida-kun, you don't have to eat as much as I do… I'm surprised that you ordered so much!"

"No, no, no, it looked too strange that a taller and bigger-built individual such as I would eat less than you! Besides, with the increased amount of physical training that everyone is doing, we could all use the extra calories to build more muscle!"

Yaoyorozu started laughing. Ah, what a refreshing sound. His stomach suddenly felt like it could manage another five burgers or so. "Please don't feel pressured by me. If you really can't finish, we can always bring the leftovers back to the dorm."

"Ever the sensible one, Yaoyorozu-kun. I do agree-ah, excuse me." His phone started vibrating in his blazer's pocket.

The screen showed that his mother was calling. He was suddenly overcome by a sense of apprehension. "Mother," he said, voice low.

"Tenya." His mother's voice sounded strained, as it usually did these days. "I'm sorry for bothering you if you're busy. But it's about your brother. Not to alarm you, but today, he…"

Iida nodded and made sounds of affirmation as his mother relayed what happened. "All right… I'll notify our instructor. I'll be right there."

He hung up and met with Yaoyorozu's worried gaze. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

"Is… everything all right?"

"They… had to take my older brother to the hospital again." Iida didn't like how his voice shook, even if it was subtle. Yaoyorozu's eyes widened in worry. He tried to gesture vaguely with his hands not to worry, even though he didn't really understand what his stupid hands were doing. "No, it's all right. He has a fever, that's all. My parents are just being extra careful when he has small problems like this. I just… I just need to inform Aizawa-sensei… the hospital's just a train away, so…"

He said those things to stop her from worrying even though he himself didn't fully believe in his words. Tensei's strong, but his spinal injury made him prone to a lot of complications that made Tenya deathly anxious just reading about them. What if it's sepsis? What if it's multi-drug resistant this time? What if he goes into shock? Just the thought of it scrambled his thoughts into an unreadable mess.

His fingers felt numb and heavy as he searched for Aizawa-sensei through his contacts. He barely noticed a graceful hand reach out to keep his still.

"Iida-kun," said Yaoyorozu, bringing him back to reality. "I'll come with you. Let Aizawa-sensei know."

His thoughts, which were filled with noise just a millisecond ago, were suddenly stunned into silence. "What?"

"You're not okay." She had her own smart phone out and was dialing a different number. "As the vice-president, I have a responsibility to look out for you, class president. Please leave the transportation to me."

He shook his head vehemently. "No, I can't possibly ask you…" he began. Suddenly stern, she held out her hand up to keep him from speaking further.

At the other end of the line, he heard Aizawa-sensei's curt voice, snapping him back once more to reality. Trying not to lose focus, he stammered out the family situation once more, and asked for permission for him and Yaoyorozu to come to the hospital.

"Yaoyorozu too?" asked Aizawa-sensei, a curious undertone to his bored voice apparent. After explaining that she extended her assistance to him, the teacher made a hum of affirmation. "All right. While you're off campus, you two stick together. You'll be responsible for her and vice-versa."

"Understood." Iida nodded as Aizawa-sensei added a few standard threats of them to not break any laws and to not use their quirks for whatever reason, and to let him know if they were back in the dorms.

After ending the call, he nodded to Yaoyorozu. Within minutes, a stretch limousine belonging to the Yaoyorozu family skidded to a halt in front of the humble burger joint. They stood up and left without a word.

* * *

Iida tried not to feel too numb or too anxious during their ride on the limo or their walk in the lobby or their ride in the elevators to room 504 in Ward 5A, where his older brother Tensei was admitted for the 3rd time this year. But the smell of antiseptic, the abnormal brightness of the lights, heck, even the shades of white and green and blue that scrubsuits and coats that the doctors and nurses wore made an array of uncomfortable feelings arise in his chest.

It was probably good that Yaoyorozu forced herself there. Somehow hearing her call out to him woke him up and made him aware of how he needed to walk forward and open the door or press the elevator buttons. He probably wouldn't have made it to Tensei's room if it weren't for her.

Somehow, they reached the room in question. Tensei was sitting up on his bed, a little red in the face and a little tired, but he was smiling. "Tenya!"

All the other vital signs on the monitor were stable. Good. All good. Tensei was good. "Onii-san," he called out. His shoulders sagged in relief.

"Hey now, don't give me that kind of look. I might just get sicker, you know?" Tensei teased as he reached out to embrace him.

"Is… is that possible?! Are there new studies regarding caregiver stress and prognosis?! Then I shall smile!"

"Tenya, you're too serious!" Tensei laughed as the younger brother made a weird grunting noise as he bared his teeth to him. And then, an altogether different smile went up his face, as he nudged him playfully. "So… are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"What…? Oh," Iida tensed, inwardly cursed his rudeness, inwardly cursed that he did something ridiculous in front of her. "This is my older brother Tensei, the pro hero Ingenium-"

"Former pro-hero," clarified Tensei. The words still stung, but Iida pressed on.

"And this is my classmate from UA, also our class vice-president, Yaoyorozu-kunnnnnnnn?!" Iida's jaw dropped when he turned to the girl in question, who was, for one reason or another, already carrying a large Ming-style vase with various genuine-looking flowers encased within.

Yaoyorozu blinked once, and then blushed furiously at Iida's flabbergasted expression. "Oh… I apologize, Iida-kun! I thought it was improper of me to visit without bringing a gift for Iida-san, so I took the liberty of making a get-well bouquet with my quirk," she stammered sheepishly. "They're plastic flowers, so infection control concerns shouldn't be a problem…"

Ever proper, Yaoyorozu-kun! Iida already regretted looking at the large plastic bouquet in shock. Behind him, Tensei laughed so hard he started coughing. "It's fine, Yaoyorozu-kun! Please, pardon my overreaction! Your gift is very much appreciated!"

"Really? That's a relief," she said, carefully setting down the vase on the floor (it was way too big to be placed on any of the tables). She bowed her head politely in the patient's direction. "This is the first time we meet. I am Yaoyorozu Momo."

"Likewise. Please continue taking care of my brother Tenya," replied Tensei just as courteously. His smile looked too much like the mischievous grin that he gave Tenya right before he teased him relentlessly.

Yaoyorozu nodded. "I'll give you some time alone, Iida-kun. I'll wait for you at the lobby."

"... All right." Iida watched as she bowed her way out of the room. As soon as the door slammed, he yelped when he felt Tensei's still-strong hand slap him on the back.

"Tenya-kun, you're so cool. You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend~ should I have mom send some red bean rice for you in the dorm?"

The indignation! He gasped in offense at the mere thought of it. "You are -very- mistaken, onii-san! I would never-Yaoyorozu-kun is merely a reliable classmate-I wouldn't dream of-"

Tensei laughed again, and Tenya grumbled a little bit on how healthy and not-sick he was and he should just go home already if he was feeling so well. "Jokes aside, Tenya, I'm okay. I didn't need to be in the hospital, but mom insisted and the doctors said it was about time for another executive check-up anyway."

"But you have a fever-"

"Just a cold. Let's not talk about what's wrong with me." He smiled so brightly it betrayed his illness. Tenya was grateful for the blanket that covered the atrophied legs and engines at the lower half of his strong older brother's body. "So, Tenya, what's going on at school?"

Tenya smiled and obliged, telling him about all the fantastic experiences and funny stories of his colleagues in UA. His brother, the very beacon of positivity, looked very genuine as he asked a few questions every now and then, just pausing a few times to let a cough escape from his throat. Tensei mentioned Midoriya, saying that he should keep such a reliable friend around him, and also mentioned that the green-haired boy reminded him very much of a friend of his who was similarly brave and an avid All Might fanboy.

"So… about Yaoyorozu-san," said Tensei, again with that teasing tone.

Tenya sighed in exasperation. "It's… impossible, onii-san."

"What are you talking about? I didn't say anything." He merely chucked when Tenya did his odd karate-chopping movements a little more violently than usual. "Seriously, though, Tenya, this is the first time I've ever seen you with a girl, and with such a good dynamic between you two to boot. Can't I feel a little hopeful for you?"

"Brother," he said, his voice unintentionally dropping a bit.

"Are you holding yourself back again?" Tensei looked up at him expectantly, an enigmatic smile on his face.

Of course he's holding himself back. Why wouldn't he hold himself back? There were more important things in his life than his silly, childish crush that Iida Tenya had to worry about. Like being an upstanding UA student. Like being the class leader. Like being a great pro Hero. Like being the next Ingenium.

Besides… he knew about Yaoyorozu-kun. He knew about how slowly, deftly, she let Todoroki-kun into her heart, watched her work so hard to stand on equal footing next to him for such a long time that Iida felt he was on a completely different stage from them. And he knew that even if he was brave enough to ask, there wasn't going to be room for him there in her heart, anyway.

Not for him.

"It's fine," his older brother's voice cut through his introspections like broken glass. He was smiling back at him again, a little more apologetic this time. "I didn't mean to pressure you into it, Tenya. Whether it's a question or timing or whatever, you know best what to do."

Timing? Iida blinked slowly at this. Was there really a more appropriate time in the future when he could stop convincing himself that he didn't only like Yaoyorozu-kun as his vice president? He could only imagine being able to do so after he's proven himself worthy of being somebody else than the Iida Tenya of that day, who couldn't even walk up to his brother's bedside without being guided like a blind man.

And… it was going to be a long journey between this Iida Tenya and that Iida Tenya. He was still so far away from where he wanted to be. He told his brother so.

"Exactly. That's where we all start, Tenya." Tensei gave him another comforting smile then. "That's why I'm telling you now that not all impossible things remain impossible forever. You wouldn't really know unless you keep moving forward."

Tensei placed his still-strong arm over Tenya's shoulder, and gave a reassuring smile. The younger brother touched his hand gratefully.

"Now… go get 'em, Tiger." He winked at him then, and Tenya wondered whether they'd kick him out of the hospital for slapping a sick man with the back of his hand.

When he went down to the lobby, Yaoyorozu was speaking to someone on her phone. She met his eyes briefly, smiled politely, and told the other person on the line, "Iida-kun's here. We'll go home in a bit. See you soon, Kyoka."

She hung up the phone and smiled up at him warmly. The meal they had about an hour ago did her well, and the beautiful glow on her skin was back and ever radiant. "Iida-kun, you're back!" She tilted his head at him the next moment in curiosity. "… what's wrong?"

Iida straightened his mouth, only realizing then that he must have had a ridiculous expression on his face. Tensei's _go get 'em Tiger~_ echoed in his brain as he tried to avoid Yaoyorozu's doe eyes. Ah, stupid _onii-san_ and his silly jokes! "It's nothing," he supplied weakly.

The vice president blinked curiously at him. "Is there anything wrong with Iida Tensei-san?"

"Oh, no, on the contrary, he's annoyingly risible," said Iida. When Yaoyorozu looked at him questioningly once more, he elaborated, "He… just gave me things to think about. Like… timing."

"... timing?"

"... yes," he answered, suddenly finding it hard to not look into her eyes. He noticed this long ago during the earliest days of school, but once again he was reminded that they were a shade of onyx that was exquisite, and he'd like to spend more time staring into them, if he could. But…

He stared at the shadows under his eyes. Felt the exhaustion that she tried to hide from plain view. It's only been a week since 'then', he knew, and he decided that it was more honorable to wait. "… the timing of his antibiotics," he said lamely, after some introspection.

"... oh!" Yaoyorozu was suddenly nodding fervently. "That is a very important point of discussion. You know, I've studied about the chemical structure of antibiotics, thinking that it may be useful during rescue operations, and…"

She practically bounced as they made their way back to her family's limousine. He listened to her quite contentedly as she spoke about the intricacies and controversies about antibiotic use. It wasn't long before they reached the dorm and he sated everyone's questions about his brother, and it wasn't long before he was saying "good night and thank you" to Yaoyorozu-kun, who gently told him the same thing with her wonderful voice.

He could listen to her voice _forever,_ he decided, and he decided then that it was something worth waiting for.

* * *

 **AN:** Why is this chapter long?! This was supposed to be an exercise for me to stop going overboard with the wordcount, but my 1000 words goal is now 4000 or so words. Waah. But I had wayyyy too much fun writing this. I didn't think IidaMomo would be so entertaining to write. I didn't expect Iida to be so freakin' easy to write. And since binge-reading BNHA: Vigilantes, I am so high-key in-love with Tensei. It makes me want to write ~more~  
Notes:  
\- Mess Burger is an obvious parody of Mos Burger, a Japanese burger joint. Really delishus burgers!  
\- Tensei mentions 'someone he knows who's an All Might fanboy' - of course this is Koichi from Vigilantes lol


	9. Here For You

**Yes  
** Chapter 9: Here For You

Bakugou dodged as Uraraka's left palm aimed for his bare shoulder, and missed again. The other palm came at him from the other side, but again he dodged this easily. He slapped her hands away harshly and enjoyed the look of frustration falling over her round face.

"Too slow," he said mockingly, as another barrage of attacks came at him again. The girl was getting faster, he thought, but not fast enough. Still not good enough to beat him. He needed to push her harder. "Go faster! Faster!"

He said that, but he was already profusely sweating, more than expected. He was far from his limit, but Uraraka made his muscles ache and sing. Which was good. She really was getting better, and it was all because of him.

He couldn't stop the devilish, excited smile on his face when Uraraka's foot went for his chest, but landed on his arm instead, making the skin on it sting. Who knew he was such a good fuckin' teacher?

He threw a kick at her and felt his heel graze the bit of skin at her hip that showed under her tank top. He wasn't holding back at all, and the pain that flashed in her face was very real and very expected. She hissed at the contact, grasped her side and looked at the damage, until Bakugou yelled at her, "What are you looking at?! Keep your eyes on me!"

Uraraka growled and barely dodged another kick coming her way. Her face was tensed in determination, her breathing ragged, her sweat drenching and forming darker shapes on her dark tank top and making the bare skin of her thighs and legs, exposed by her gym shorts, sheen under the fluorescent lights. Her cheeks were pinker than ever, and she emphasized their roundness when the back of her hand went up to wipe the sweat dripping down her chin.

"Tired already, Round-Face? I ain't floating yet, am I?" Bakugou sneered, not dropping his fighting stance.

"Who's tired? I ain't even started yet." She moved forward, transforming into a blur right in front of Bakugou's eyes, fist curling beside her. She missed him, but just barely. Bakugou felt the whoosh of air tingling the skin of his cheek. He grabbed her wrist and swung her to the side, intending to throw her to the other side of the gym.

Suddenly, he felt something that was like a small bell ring once in the air. His entire body screamed at the oddity of zero-gravity suddenly invading his cells.

Uraraka managed to sneak her other chubby hand on his opposite arm. It was likely a fluke, but she was grinning up at him all the same. "I did it! I win!"

"Says who?" His other hand was still holding on to her wrist. Try as she might to pull free, she couldn't, and Bakugou pulled her up with him to the air. She cried in shock as they floated about six feet into the air, and even more so when he pulled her close and forced her hand on his sweaty chest.

All five fingers made contact with his bare skin, and the weird chime his body felt signalled the deactivation of her quirk. He told himself not to go easy on her, but he couldn't stop himself from holding her as they fell, twisting them so he would land on the bottom. They landed on the padded floors with a loud _thud._

It was entirely an accident, Bakugou would realize when he reviewed the events later on, that his lips made contact with hers as they landed. It was only a second, but he found himself looking at a pink-faced Uraraka, who was obviously pink-faced from a different reason than their workout.

But the fight wasn't over yet. Taking advantage of the moment of distraction, Bakugou easily flipped them over, and within the next second, pinned Uraraka down face-down on the mat, securing her hands behind her with one of his, and both her legs underneath his weight. One hand went up to push her head down, drenching her hazelnut hair with his nitroglycerin.

"What the-" Uraraka stammered, a _how did I get here_ kind of look obvious on her face.

"You lose." Bakugou had a derisive smirk on his face, tightening the grip on her hair once in victory. She yelped. "That was too fuckin' easy, Round-Face."

It wasn't that easy, he admitted to himself, but not out loud. He stood up and let Uraraka scramble to a sitting position.

She was still blushing angrily, if there was such a thing, and had one hand up to her mouth. "W-we k-k-k-kissed," she stuttered in pure mortification. It was almost insulting.

"So?" This earned him another round of stuttering. He rolled his eyes. "It's just a fuckin' kiss, Uraraka. If you let something stupid like that distract you in the middle of a fight, of course you're gonna fucking lose."

"Just a FUCKIN'-" Uraraka yelled in indignation, with a degree of eloquence that was obviously a result of her frequent exposure to Bakugou. She pointed a finger at him accusingly. "Is this how you treat innocent maidens like me, Bakugou? I'll have you know that was my first ever kiss!"

"Like I fuckin' care about stupid shit like that."

"A girl's first kiss is supposed to be special!" she protested. "I was… I was gonna share it with someone I really liked, you know! Ah, I can't believe you'd steal something so precious from me!"

"Can you not talk about this girly sentimental shit with me, Round-Face?" he growled, ignoring how rotund and squishy her face suddenly looked at she puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "Get that _otome_ shit away from me. If you're not serious about getting stronger, then you better get the fuck out-"

He didn't finish his sentence quickly enough. The simpering, rotund thing he was berating earlier suddenly transformed into a violent blur once again, and it took all the speed he had left in him to dodge the hand that aimed for his face.

Without warning, they were sparring again, with Uraraka moving faster and stronger than before. He didn't make it any fucking easier for her, and he felt her firm flesh underneath his fists a couple of times, but she didn't back down.

Somehow, the little brunette managed to bring her knee up his stomach, pushing all the air out of his lungs. She took this opportunity to push him down, and in the next moment he was staring up at her, his back to the floor, his arms pinned to his sides by her strong thighs, his breath a bit of a ways away from his lungs.

Uraraka glowered at him for a few seconds, before allowing a little victory smirk play over her plump, pink lips.

"Who's not serious about getting fuckin' stronger, Explodey-face?" she asked, a low growl making its way to her voice.

Well fuck him if it wasn't the hottest thing he's ever seen, or heard. He tried to keep his glare steady, his smirk malevolent, but he couldn't ignore the sudden drumming of his pulse in his ears.

"You fuckin' hurt my feelings, you know," she continued, pressing her arm across his throat, "so you better apologize."

This girl was fuckin' stronger than she looked. He'd known it for some time now. So fuck him if he was going to make anything easy for her. "Make me," he dared her instead.

Her face descended closer and closer to his, and in a movement as subtle and as quiet as a gunshot, her lips claimed his in another, more violent kiss.

For someone who claimed to be so inexperienced in the art of kissing, she was unexpectedly spirited about it. Uraraka pushed her lips to his so desperately he thought she was gonna _die_ if she didn't do it. Heck, he thought _he_ was gonna die if he spent another moment not appreciating the sweet taste of her mouth, the salt on her skin, the intoxicating scent of her. She opened her mouth, letting a sound that drove him crazy escape from it, and he felt that he had no choice but to push his tongue inside there and taste every corner of her.

She shifted her position to let his arms move a little more, and his hands automatically sought the thick thighs that kicked him to oblivion earlier. He squeezed at the pliant flesh and made her groan.

Her hands weren't shy about exploring his body, either. He felt her soft fingerpads slide under his own tanktop and over his bare skin, noting how she was careful not to touch him with all five fingers at the same time. Her moans magnified, as if in appreciation, and he felt something in him spark.

Fuck, shit, goddamn, if it didn't feel so fuckin' _good._ He wanted to stop thinking, just so he could lose herself to her. He didn't think he'd enjoy losing against her so much. Yet, something nagged at the back of his head incessantly, telling him that something was fuckin' wrong here and he needed to stop before he was in too deep.

He let go of Uraraka's lips, the pop of it snapping them out of the haze momentarily, but not long enough that Uraraka paid any attention to his question in the next moment, "The fuck are you doing, Round-Face?"

Or so he said, but he didn't stop her from pressing her mouth to his neck. Shit, her sweet intake of breath was so close to his ear, he thought it was his own. "I'm makin' you apologize, what else?"

"Well you're not gettin' it from me that way," he said, pushing her away from him. She whined a little, but stopped. She sat up straighter, looking down on him as she sat on his stomach, and tilted her head a little.

"So?"

"So what?"

Bakugou sighed in exasperation. "What are you tryin' to pull, Round-Face?"

Uraraka's mouth angled downward. She didn't immediately say anything. She lifted herself off of him, and Bakugou's body practically _whined_ at the absence of her weight. She sat next to him, knees up to her chest and eyes to the floor, the sudden, contrasting picture of modesty.

"I dunno, Bakugou… I thought you would like it if I did it, so I did. It's… not that deep," she said, prodding the floor with one of her fingers.

Bakugou sat up next to her, his eyebrows furrowing almost involuntarily as he stared at the way she suddenly avoided eye contact. "You were the one who freaked the fuck out when I accidentally 'stole' your first kiss, Round-Face. Don't give me that shit. Be honest."

Uraraka began to chew on the lip that, up until a minute ago, Bakugou claimed for his own. She opened her mouth once. Closed it again. Then looked down on the floor once more. "I just… wanted to know what it's like… to be… wanted, I guess."

The moment the words left her mouth, the flash of conflict in her eyes went on full force. She bit down on her lip so hard Bakugou expected blood to flow. "... Forget it, Bakugou. I… don't know what I was thinking. I don't really know what I wanted to happen, but…"

He merely continued staring at her silently, daring at her to explain further, even though she remained reluctant. She was obviously _ashamed_ of something, and he knew exactly why.

He knew, of course, that little round-face here had the hots for that shitty fucking nerd Deku. She didn't have to say it out loud for him, or anybody else except the nerd-in-question to get a clue. And while her taste in men was decidedly shitty from the start, given that that fuckin' nerd was also obviously head-over-heels for that fucking Half-and-Half bastard, perhaps even _she_ felt the strain of wanting something so bad for so long without any way of having those useless feelings returned.

Yeah. Fucking useless feelings. Really, fucking _useless._ Bakugou didn't have them, and he'd rather _die_ than fucking catch something as useless as _feelings._ He'd rather not have anything to do with this stupid shit, not even if his life depended on it.

Yet there the conundrum remained in front of him, in the form of the useless, weeping, yet violent and intoxicating and headstrong Uraraka Ochako. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stand up and walk away. He rationalized that maybe it was 'cause all his hard work of making her stronger would go to a waste if he let her remain in that useless, weeping state and not some other sentimental shit like sympathy or friendship or whatever that urged him to give her some small comfort.

"You don't know what the fuck you wanted, huh."

Uraraka looked up at him, a slightly bewildered look on her face when she heard his low growl.

He inched himself closer to her, so close he felt the actual, palpable heat rising from those cheeks. "More like, you don't want to fucking _tell me_ what the fuck you want."

Uraraka gasped, not entirely in pain, when Bakugou pulled the hair at the back of her head in a possessive, powerful gesture. Her fuckin' Disney eyes were so wide he saw the reflection of his glower back at them. "Don't be a fuckin' weakling, Round-Face. Tell me what you want."

"I-" she stammered. He enjoyed the way the words died in her throat as he dipped his head to the side of her neck, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin there.

"Say it," he repeated, his voice so low it went out as a rumble. She inhaled shakily, one of her small hands going around his head to grasp his hair, the other one holding him closer, closer, closer.

He wouldn't stop until he hears her say it. That she wanted him, Bakugou Katsuki, to make her feel wanted, not that shitty Deku who didn't know jack shit. That she wanted to kiss him, and not that nerd, and she wanted to touch him, and wanted to fuck him silly until she didn't remember her misery or her stupid feelings, or even her own fuckin' _name,_ without any blatant regard of what Bakugou Katsuki might feel about her, because right now all she could think about was what _she_ fuckin' wanted, and nobody else.

Bakugou _knew_ that was what she wanted, knew it from the moment she pinned him down and growled at him like a hungry lioness, and all he wanted was for her to have the fuckin' balls to admit it to him. And he was gonna _let her,_ if she'd only say it with her own fuckin-

"I… want to _use you,_ Bakugou," she whispered, her voice husky in a strange mixture of shame and desire.

He knew he broke some insipid part of her that needed breaking, and he felt victorious for it. He smirked against her skin.

"... you bad girl." As an answer to her selfish plea, his mouth went up to meet hers and stopped the rush of useless words right at its source.

Uraraka gasped against his mouth, hissing a soft _yes,_ and _melted._ She grasped at his shirt and kissed him desperately, and he succumbed head-first into her selfish desires. It wasn't long before he was used, and used again, in many selfish ways, behind closed doors and curtains, in between spars and blasts and gasps for air and longing glances at the boy she'd never have.

It's all right, he mumbled to her, as she slept peacefully on top of him, hair in disarray and skin _glowing._ Use me for as long as you'd like.

* * *

 **AN:** I know I'm bound to disappoint a bunch of people for staying soft core and not having the balls to up the ante on the smut haha. I might write it in a separate fic, but not here.

I also know that the concept of Bakugou letting himself be used by Uraraka to get over Deku isn't new but I just a huge garbage can for it, and I thought I'd write my own take on it even though the idea isn't original.

Please let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks for reading :)  
Up next: Shinsou, Aizawa-sensei, Monoma, Hatsume, Deku, Todoroki (again!), Sero, and Aoyama.


	10. I Thought You Were Smart

**Yes  
** Chapter 10: I Thought You Were Smart

WARNING: non-consensual action up ahead. (i.e. Monoma awakening to his yandere potential).

* * *

Shinsou fell backwards as he received another blow to his stomach. He landed gracelessly on the padded floor with a loud _oof._

He was in the middle of another Spartan afternoon of nothing but physical training. Aizawa-sensei had him running 5 km within 25 minutes, after which he had him do high intensity interval exercises. After a quick water break, they jumped straight into a mixed martial arts style of sparring.

It's harder than the training they had yesterday and the day before that. Shinsou tried to ignore the way his muscles started to shake. Like his teacher, he wore a dark tank top and sweat pants. But while his whole body was soaked in sweat and his usually messy hair was in an even worse state of disarray, his teacher didn't appear any different.

Aizawa-sensei lowered his bare foot after that rather strong kick. He looked as tired as ever, but it didn't look like he even broke a sweat while sparring with his student. And even though he just tied it in a messy bun before their fight, his hair didn't look any different than it had before. He curled his hand in a wordless gesture for Shinsou to stand up and face him again.

Shinsou obliged, trying not to show that he was still reeling from the last hit. His gait wobbled a little as he walked sideways with his fists up, trying to predict Aizawa-sensei's next move.

The teacher's body wasn't tensed in any way. He rubbed one hand lazily at the back of his neck, showing off the hardened muscles of his bare arm and forearm. It was a little late that Shinsou realized that he was staring at it for too long, only breaking out of the reverie when Aizawa drawled, "Tired already, Shinsou? That's a lazy stance you got there."

"I can still fight," replied the younger man, doing a boxer shuffle as he did so. Aizawa made a scoffing sound and shrugged.

In the next instant, a black mass zoomed towards Shinsou's direction, and he felt another one of his fists make contact against his forearms. The boy moved sideways to dodge, and as he did, he felt the sting of air rapidly moving against the sensei's foot. He swung one of his fists at the older man, his whole body going into it, but the man caught it in one hand and neutralized the force.

"... that one kinda hurt," Aizawa mumbled before capturing him by the arm and throwing Shinsou's whole body over his shoulder.

The boy fell on his back, all the wind he was carrying in his lungs being knocked out along the way. His entire body ached, and when he tried to move to get up, his body initially refused and instead wallowed in the gravity. "… this one really hurt," he mumbled back.

Aizawa-sensei didn't say anything, but offered a calloused hand to help his student up. Shinsou took it, reveling in the roughness of his palms as he was pulled up to his feet.

"You're getting a little stronger. I think with this, I can expect you to hold your own for a while if you're trapped in a close combat situation," appraised Aizawa in his usual lazy tone, one hand scratching the side of his stubbly chin. "But you're gonna be severely limited if you're faced with a long distance opponent who wouldn't speak or hear your voice. So… what do you plan to do about that?"

Shinsou shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. He'd been embarrassed about asking this of Aizawa-sensei for a while now, but he needed to man up and say it anyway. "… I was hoping to… fight like you do, Sensei."

"... like me."

"Yes. Using capture tape." When Aizawa raised an eyebrow at his statement, he shrugged again. "I… thought it would make things easier for me. I mean I guess I could use a gun too, but I doubt the school's gonna let me."

Aizawa stared at him skeptically, jaw jutting out in thought. "It's… not a bad idea," he began carefully. "Capture tape's a good idea, but you also need to be a little more creative than that. You know your quirk better, so I'll leave that part to you."

He moved to where his things lay haphazardly on the floor and pulled out the off-white length of cloth from his mess of clothes. He tossed it to Shinsou, who barely caught one end of it in his left hand.

He held the strip of cloth with two hands, surprised at how _heavy_ it was. Looking more closely at it, he saw that it was imbued with a flexible metal that can snap the cloth into a stiffer shape. He wondered at how heavy it would feel to wear the cloth as a scarf everyday, like Aizawa-sensei does.

"Now, I won't move from here," said the dark-haired unkempt teacher, dropping to sit cross-legged on the floor. "Try to capture me and pull me to you."

"... All right." The purple-haired student took a deep breath and tried to remember how Eraserhead's stance appeared when he wielded the capture tape. He set his feet apart, held the tape in the middle, almost like a whip, and stared determinedly in Aizawa-sensei's direction.

Aizawa stared at him boredly as the tape fell limply five feet away from where he sat.

"..."

"Now how easy was it?" A mocking, Cheshire-like grin graced the teacher's mouth. Even though it was at his expense, Shinsou felt his heart throb.

"... not at all, _sensei,_ " muttered Shinsou, scratching his head in embarrassment. He felt the capture tape slide from his grasp and saw that the older man was pulling at it. It wasn't even a second when he heard the snap of the tape winding around him, and making him fall to the ground once more.

"Now, I'll teach you how to use this, because I agree with you. I think with your quirk, a weapon like this will be advantageous." As Aizawa spoke, he dragged the wrapped Shinsou across the floor at an almost leisurely pace, ignoring the student's grunts as the bandage wrapped around him tighter and tighter. "… but don't think it'll be easy, kid. If you want to be able to use this at the Joint Exercise, you have to be a fast learner."

He reached Aizawa's feet by this time. The Joint Exercise was less than a month away. He needed to be able to win, and to win by showing the other teachers something so impressive that they'd be begging him to take the hero course.

He peered up at the only teacher… no, the only _adult_ in this world who believed in him. "Sir… you think I could learn it on time?"

Eraserhead shrugged. "Why, don't you think so? I thought you were smart."

He said this with such confidence that Shinsou blushed. He hoped that the capture tape kept Aizawa-sensei from noticing.

With an expert flick of the wrists, the capture tape loosened and unwound around Shinsou as if it were sentient. "Powerloader told me that the prototype of your mouthpiece will be ready tomorrow. I'll have him prepare a capture tape for you. We'll start practicing with your tools next week."

"Thank you, Sensei."

Without another word, Aizawa-sensei was throwing all his things into a duffel bag, his strong back facing the student. If he noticed that the younger man was staring holes into his muscled back, he didn't show it.

The teacher left, fumbling through his pockets for his cigarettes along the way. Shinsou stared at the hand that held Aizawa's just moments ago, and struggled to remember the shape of the calluses, the pattern of its warmth, even the scent of it-

He felt heat rising to his cheeks and shook his head. No, there wasn't any time for this stupid shit. He needed to be more serious. He needed to work hard. He needed to be a hero.

Shit, he didn't think that being in-love with his teacher would make it a little harder…

He fixed his things by himself after that, barely noticing movement at the other side of the gym. He left, closed the lights, and shut the door, letting the space be enveloped in total silence.

* * *

The Support Department rooms were in a different segment of the main building. They needed extra room for explosions and shit and people heard about how the support team tended to be basement dwellers who didn't enjoy interacting with real people. Shinsou thought it was an overkill decision, but then he also remembered that pink-haired girl with targets for eyes who turned that glasses dude from 1A into a walking billboard. So maybe there was some sense into giving them separate space. Crazy can be contagious, after all…

As he walked to the direction of the Costumes and Weaponry department, he saw a familiar, lithe figure from a distance. He frowned, thought about turning away and coming at a later time.

It was a little too late, he realized, when the figure turned to him, sky blue eyes glinting with the sunset streaming through the windows, and gave a smug smile of recognition. "Hey," he called out with a wave of a hand. "You're going to Costumes too?"

Shinsou nodded vaguely and obviously avoided eye contact.

"Me too. Let's walk there together, what do you say?" He reached out his hand to him, smug smile never leaving his face. "By the way, just in case you don't remember who I am, I'm class 1B's Monoma, from the Heroics Course."

"I know you," Shinsou replied, and ignores the hand as if to affirm his statement. He kept on moving forward.

Not seeming offended in the least, the blonde boy chuckled softly and walked after him. "Aren't you cool? Well, I know you too… Class 1C's Shinsou Hitoshi from the General Studies Department."

Shinsou scoffed at this. "Am I supposed to be impressed that you remember shit?" They were on the same stage in the Sports Festival, after all.

"Not really impressed. I was hoping… interested." Monoma looked at him with a glint in his eye. "Because I sure am interested in you, Shinsou-kun. I wonder what a General Studies student is doing, going to the _Costumes and Weaponry_ department, when they're not supposed to be using their quirks at all?"

He stopped in his tracks and frowned at the blonde guy, who only stared back at him almost defiantly. Is this jerk picking a fight with him? His eyes went down to where Monoma's hand was hanging innocently at his side.

"Worried about me copying your quirk?" Monoma laughed again. "Don't worry, Shinsou-kun, I don't have any intention of doing that to you. Well, at least not now, anyway. Oh, look, we're here."

He had his guard up so high that he didn't notice that they were already at the Costumes and Weaponry door. Monoma took the lead and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, he opened the door and forged on ahead.

The room was a mess. There were stacks of cloth, tools, half-eaten food stuffs, and mannequins scattered about. The smell of grease and odorants and trash wafted up to his nose. It was a challenge to find a spot on the floor where they could safely put their foot without stepping on anything. Yet, Monoma seemed to know his way around and hopped on one spot after the other, leaving Shinsou by the doorway.

He looked at a spot on the floor, which was next to something that looked like a robot, and shook his head. "Hm, it seems that Mei-chan's collapsed on the floor from sheer exhaustion… again. Seriously, this girl probably sleeps only once a week. Probably has the same sleeping habits as you, eh?" He chuckled, even when the other boy did not look amused. He looked up at Shinsou and tilted his head in curiosity, that infuriating lazy smile never leaving his face. "So, Shinsou-kun, you coming in?"

"Are we really allowed to just go in here and touch their stuff without them knowing?"

"Who knows." Monoma shrugged. "Even if Mei-chan were awake, she wouldn't know you were in here even if you come in with neon hula hoops spinning around you."

He remembered the girl from the Sports Festival again, who only seemed to care about her machines. That was probably true.

Well, the only thing he needed to do here was to find his weapons-the capture tape and his special piece. Monoma's on the far end of the room; if his weapons are close, he could just grab them and get out without having to interact with him any further and risk him knowing more about his training than he needed to.

He surveyed the room, looking for his piece. He'd worked on the design by himself for weeks, so he'd know it when he sees it. So… where is it…

"Oh, this looks interesting."

 _Shit._ His worst fear had just come true, right before his eyes. Monoma held a dark, heavy-duty mask with two hands and was appraising it carefully under the light.

The Artificial Vocal Cords… were in the copycat's hands. Shinsou felt a rage rise from within him.

He regarded the way Shinsou's eyes widened and smirked. "… yes… very interesting."

Shinsou breathed harshly. "Give it here," he growled, stepping his way towards the clutter. Shit. He didn't want to come to this, but in the next moment, he activated his quirk. "What do you think you're doing, you bastard?"

Maybe there was something different in the way that he looked, but Monoma didn't say anything. _Shit,_ Aizawa-sensei was right. He needed to be able to do something about people who refused to talk. The jerk smiled just a little more maliciously and put the mask on.

He couldn't hold on to the copycat's mind for too long in his emotional state. He grit his teeth. Perhaps feeling the release of his mind from the quirk, Monoma began to laugh. His voice was muffled under Shinsou's Artificial Vocal Cords, but it sounded just as grating as it did unmuffled.

"This is pretty interesting, Shinsou-kun. What devious things are you planning to do with this?" He turned one of the dials on the side, seemingly satisfied with the way it went _click-click-click._

"That belongs to me, you bastard," Shinsou growled once more. When he made to lunge for the smaller boy, he only held out his bare hand, as if threatening him with his quirk. He stopped in his tracks.

"Now, now, Shinsou-kun, no need to be selfish. I know you're smarter than this," said Monoma, and then gasping in surprise as he heard Midnight-sensei's low, seductive purr say his words, instead of his own voice. "Oh, how utterly _interesting._ I wonder how Mei-chan did it? There's probably a database of all sorts of different voices in here… I'm sure she started with the teachers, since it's easier to get a hold of their vocal samples from their lectures. Hm, I bet there's also a feature that can copy someone else's voice once the mask encounters it?"

He clicked one of the buttons at the side, holding out his bare hand threateningly against Shinsou, who could only glare at him with gritted teeth. "Ah. See? Now I sound just like you… Shinsou-kun."

"Can you stop fucking messing around?" Shinsou activated his quirk once more. In response, Monoma only stared him down, happily turning the Artificial Vocal Cord dials one after the other without uttering a single word. Again, he wasn't able to hold on to the blonde boy's mind for too long. Monoma chuckled victoriously after.

"Now, I wonder what sort of voice I could use to… mess around with you a little more," said the copycat, this time using Principal Nezu's benign voice. "I doubt it's our beloved principal's mousy voice…"

"Stop this shit already-"

"... perhaps All Might-sensei would be a good choice?" said Monoma, in the familiar boom of the said teacher's voice.

"I'm serious, Monoma-" Shinsou was stopped again by Monoma's bare hand, only inches away from the skin of his neck.

Monoma's eyes practically _smirked_ deviously with the next click of the dial. "No. I'm sure this is the one. _Ne…_ Hitoshi-kun?"

He knew it was fucking Monoma who was talking to him. He knew it, but the sound of Aizawa-sensei's voice saying his name made his chest tighten and the breath catch in his throat. A strangled noise escaped from his mouth, and he knew he lost.

The smirk in Monoma's eyes got a little more devilish. "Ah, Hitoshi-kun. So it's Eraserhead who does it for you, huh? Well, you do look like the underground type too, but who would have guessed that you liked the rugged, daddy types who live off of nothing but juice packs, huh?"

"Can you shut the fuck-"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the world around him shifted. A haze suddenly enveloped his vision, and all the sounds warped around him in confusion.

The only clear voice was Monoma's, who was still using Aizawa-sensei's voice. "I have to say I'm a little disappointed, Hitoshi-kun. I guess I'm really far from your type of guy. Even though, you're just… my… type."

Monoma's hand dropped from where it touched Shinsou's neck back to his side. The smile never leaving his eyes, he stepped closer to Shinsou, until he was almost nose-to-nose with him. Raising himself up on his tiptoes, his disconcertingly blue eyes peered directly into Shinsou's purple ones with a sense of satisfaction. "So… this is how your quirk works. Have you experienced it before, Hitoshi?"

Shinsou couldn't move. _Shinsou couldn't move._ The world around him continued to shift, the shadows warping along the walls like the stuff of nightmares. The sensation of simultaneously forgetting and remembering where he stood was overwhelming and appalling. He didn't know what he knew. He couldn't move.

He stared right back at the only definable thing in his vision, which is Monoma. Monoma and his stupid, evil, smiling eyes. Aizawa-sensei's voice chuckled.

"Of course you wouldn't answer…" He felt Monoma's hand stroke the skin on his right cheek. Even though the impulse to slap his hand away was strong, his hand hung deathly still on his side. "I hope you don't hate me from what I'm about to do to you, Hitoshi-kun. Perhaps this will be a learning experience for you. If it makes you feel better, you can keep pretending that I'm your beloved Eraserhead. I sound just like him anyway, don't I? Why don't you nod your head?"

Shinsou nodded his head calmly, as if it were the only logical thing to do. Monoma's clear, sky blue eyes creased in excitement.

"Good. Very good, Hitoshi. Ah, I'm glad I have five whole minutes of this with you." Monoma stared at him, humming as one finger tapped his chin in deep thought. "So… all I know about this quirk is what I've learned from watching you and Midoriya-kun. Perhaps I'll stick to simple commands for now."

Shinsou could only stare back at him blankly, all faculties for expressing his anger vanquished.

"Let's start. Hitoshi-kun, why don't you say my name?"

When Shinsou only stared at him blankly, he clicked his tongue. "Hm, perhaps asking something that requires any sort of declarative memory is too complex. Then, repeat after me. Monoma Neito."

"Monoma Neito," replied Shinsou, with no intonation at all in his voice.

"Tsk. No feelings whatsoever. I thought it would be thrilling hearing my name from your voice, but…" Aizawa-sensei's exasperated sigh emerged from the mask. "Oh, here's another simple command. Why don't you kneel for me, Hitoshi-kun? Yes, right here, in front of me."

Again, as if it were the only thing that made sense to do in that haze, Shinsou fell on his knees without question. His head looked up to find those blue eyes, as if waiting for the next command. They creased in excitement once more.

"Hm… I wonder if you're truly imagining Aizawa-sensei asking this of you… for some reason, it doesn't make me too happy. I hope you're seeing _me_ in that haze, instead of that old man." Monoma knelt in front of him and cupped his chin in one hand as they stared at each other eye to eye.

"Ah, there's so many… interesting things I want to do with you, Hitoshi-kun. If only you knew how long I've waited… But we could do that next time, when we're closer." Then, as if suddenly gaining a fresh new idea, he let go of his chin.

Shinsou watched as he slowly removed the Artificial Vocal Cords from his face, revealing smooth skin and a symmetrical, small face. Paired with those eyes and his neat appearance, there was no doubt that Monoma was a handsome guy. Too bad he had the personality of a skunk.

The mask dropped to the floor, thudding dully on concrete. The face was now leaning in closer and closer to his own. "Now, Hitoshi," he whispered in his own voice, his breath so close to his lips that he felt his skin sting in anticipation. "Why don't you come a little closer."

Shinsou moved his head half an inch closer. He could practically _feel_ the shadow of Monoma's lips on his. When the other boy's tongue darted out to wet his lips, he almost felt the moisture over his own, and then realized how _dry_ his mouth and throat were in this crazy dream.

"No. A little closer."

Shinsou obliged. The sensation of the quirk thief's mouth on his own, in that odd hazy universe that he suddenly was lost in, felt like a lesser degree of insanity on top of a prevalent greater insanity of a world that didn't make sense. His lips were soft, the kiss gentle, almost _chaste,_ when Shinsou received the contact passively. It was almost laughable to see that Monoma was capable of chaste things, even when the glow in his eyes was bordering on maniacal.

Now those eyes are hooded, fluttering closed for a fraction of a second before they opened again, a new hunger in his eyes. "Open your mouth," he commanded, almost begged him even, his voice heavy with want and need.

Shinsou felt his jaw lowering involuntarily.

"Yes," Monoma sang, running his tongue across the other boy's mouth. "Just like that."

He kissed the hypnotized boy deeply, hungrily, but as softly as humanly possible, careful not to release the hold of the stolen mind control quirk on him. His tongue went into his mouth, tasting him, exploring every corner that he could reach.

"Hitoshi…" Monoma's tenor practically _purred,_ the vibrations rumbling against the skin of Shinsou's sensitive lips. "Kiss me back. Kiss me the way you want to kiss _him_ ," he said again, a desperate undertone apparent in his voice.

Shinsou felt his hands move automatically to hold Monoma's face his place, felt his mouth mimic the hungry movements of the other boy's mouth, felt his tongue crash against his.

 _Stop. Stop this, Shinsou. Wake up. You don't want to do this. Wake. Up._ He couldn't even imagine Aizawa-sensei's face, as he was commanded to. All he saw was that blonde hair, that smooth skin, those azure eyes. He knew that he should be feeling disgusted and furious with the turn of events, but his body didn't act like it. And the world around him remained to be the nightmarish mess of shadows that didn't even pretend to be _real,_ unlike the boy he was holding in his arms, lost in his own passions, moaning and clinging to him and feeling so, so real.

He felt his own hands bury themselves in Monoma's soft, strawberry blonde hair. In response, as if he couldn't take it anymore, Monoma gripped his face, then the back of his head, then ran his hands down the taller boy's torso. He pressed his fingers appreciatively over the newly hardened muscles of his abdomen. Small sounds of pleasure escaped from his mouth as he did so.

Monoma's touch was firm, but it wasn't strong enough to release the hold he had on Shinsou's will. He released his mouth for a fraction of a second and whispered, "Say my name."

"..." The mouth went back over his, hungrier than it's ever been for the few seconds that they were separated. Monoma kissed him like his life depended on it, like his time was running out.

"Hitoshi, come on, say my name-" Those hands reached up under Shinsou's shirt, sliding over his broad chest, making the thrumming of his heart go faster.

"... N…" The mouth was on his, before he could even finish his response. Something unclenches itself slowly from his mind. His eyes move side to side rapidly. The shadows at the walls began to melt to the floor. "… N… Nei-"

 _CLUNK._

Shinsou first heard the sound before he felt the sharp pain on the left side of his head flooding to the rest of his body. Something heavy and made of steel fell with another ugly sound on the floor beside him.

"... now, I can forgive any degree of hanky-panky in my workspace, but…"

The world snapped back into its proper place in the next moment. Shinsou pushed the stunned Monoma violently off of him, and the smaller boy promptly fell on his ass, the back of his head hitting a nearby table.

"... inappropriate use of my babies?! That I cannot forgive!" The voice came from a heap of scrap metals and synthetics from their left side. Hatsume Mei had her arm out, apparently having thrown a monkey wrench at Shinsou. She had that eerie, permanent smile on her face, which somehow appeared a little offended at what she saw.

The memories of what he did under the mind control came flooding back to him. Shit, he was one of those types who _remember_ things after his quirk is applied. Bewildered, one hand went to touch his lips, still swollen from their… _previous_ activity, the other one clenching and unclenching, still desperate to wake the rest of his body off the stupor.

Monoma, that fucking psycho, did not have a trace of regret on his smug face. He rubbed the pain off the back of his head with one hand. "Inappropriate? What was inappropriate, Mei-chan? Was it worth fracturing Shinsou-kun's skull with that ridiculous wrench?"

Hatsume stood on two feet and gestured to the discarded Artificial Vocal Cords by Monoma's feet. "You don't just drop my precious baby on the floor just because you're in heat, Blondie. Pay my babies some respect. Besides, it wasn't designed for you, it was designed for Violet here."

Without any regard of Monoma, Hatsume stepped over his body, 'accidentally' stepping one steel-toed work boot over one of his limbs, and picked up the discarded mask on the floor. She ran her curiously-pigmented eyes over each of the gadget's nook and cranny before she nodded in satisfaction and handed this over to Shinsou. "Here you go, Violet-kun. This baby is top-of-the-line! One of the best support items I'd ever made for a mental quirk! I think this dolt spit all over it showing you how it works. But you probably know how it works now, right? After you disinfect it, you can come to me anytime if you have any questions."

Shinsou was still speechless, but was nonetheless grateful for Hatsume's blunt personality. He took the mask from her without a word and intended to bolt for the door.

"Wait!"

He stopped in his tracks. He wasn't under mind control anymore, but he allowed himself to look back and to glower at Monoma.

The boy was standing up now. He rolled the capture weapon neatly and then threw it to the taller boy, who caught it deftly in one hand.

"Work hard, Hitoshi-kun," he said with a smirk. One sky blue eye winked at him, a glint of the previous desire in them still present. "I look forward to having you in class 1B soon~"

Shinsou grit his teeth and left without another word, slamming the door behind him as he did so.

Behind him, he barely heard the Support Course girl mumble something about Monoma being a _disgusting animal,_ and then immediately gushing about her babies in the same breath. Monoma's high-pitched laughter came out after, and then began the talk of his costume.

Shinsou gripped the capture weapon in his hands tightly. He closed his eyes and scrambled to recall Aizawa-sensei's true voice, but only found a confused static and a deep sense of shame.

He touched his swollen lips once more, and left the building.

* * *

 **AN:** I hope I didn't make anyone too uncomfortable. Aizawa/Shinsou might not be popular but I think that it's not that unthinkable. Don't get me wrong, I do like the Dadzawa/Shinson dynamic but this. THis one I want to explore a lil more.  
I don't think Monoma will be this crazy in canon but he does have a potential to be yandere, and I think his interest for Shinsou in the manga so far was a little too unnatural. Man, I can't wait for their turn!  
I love Hatsume! I wish there was more of her in the manga. Her and her babies. Yes.  
About Shinsou's abilities - I read an essay on tumblr before, theorizing that his quirk isn't so much of hypnosis (which requires a conscious decision for the subject to be hypnotized), but rather putting the subject to a state similar to sleep. (please if anybody knows who wrote it, please leave a comment, I truly appreciate it). Similar to people waking up during stage 3 sleep or REM sleep and either forgetting or remembering their dreams, it might also be why some of the kids didn't remember anything, but Midoriya remembered the events up to the most minute details. That was how I tried to describe the state that Shinsou was in when he was manipulated by Monoma here. But I digress.  
Ah, I really want to make a follow-up of this! But I'm not courageous enough and I have like seven multichapter fics to work on now so let me just die already  
Thank u for reading my ramble. Up next: Todoroki and Midoriya being sad.


	11. If I Only Knew

**Yes  
** Chapter 11: If I Only Knew

Izuku leapt away from the ground as another great pillar of fire emerged from where he once stood. Below him, he saw his opponents leap at each other and dodge so quickly that they seemed to be doing so simultaneously. The sounds of explosions and the crisp tinkle of ice threatened to overwhelm his ears.

"Fucking icyhot! When are you gonna use your fire against me, _haa?_ You half and half chickenshit!" Bakugou Katsuki seethed as he sent a Howitzer blast towards Todoroki Shouto, who blocked it with a wall of ice. The force of the blast shattered and sent a small hale storm over the hot-headed blonde.

Todoroki, as always, remained silent and focused. His exhale came out in a visible cloud as a thin layer of frost appeared over his right cheek. But he stood strong in the midst of the field. He had been relentless against his ice attacks on Kacchan, and despite the weights on all limbs, he didn't look close to his limit yet.

Izuku knew that he would avoid using fire on Kacchan because the heat would contribute to the production of sweat. Using nothing but ice against him would be the best strategy. The confounding factor to this battle, of course, was the presence of Izuku himself, who had no such conditions against fire or ice, and had the same goal of beating the two of them to submission.

He felt the judgmental leer of Aizawa-sensei, who was silently observing how all three are maximizing the use of their quirks against each other.

He couldn't stay on the sidelines for very long; their teacher would count it as points against him, and besides, Kacchan wouldn't have it. A strategy in his mind and a battlecry in his mouth, he barreled forward, hitting a nearby slab of concrete that loomed above them with a powerful kick.

The shattered rubble fell like rain over the field. Their noisy descent was followed by blasts of fire, ice, and explosives.

"You won't kill me like that, fuckin'… Deku!" Kacchan was fuming and on the verge of spontaneously combusting over Izuku's surprise attack, but was unsurprisingly still standing. He blasted his way through the air towards Izuku, who hung there mid-leap.

Kacchan was faster than ever before. Izuku didn't anticipate how quick his ascent was. It was as if he wasn't wearing any weights. Within a second, the blonde had his explosive grip over the green-haired boy's right ankle.

Izuku knew that he wouldn't be able to shake Kacchan off his leg. Instead, he tried to punch him away, but it seemed that his enemy anticipated that. His fist noisily met thin air, and he felt himself being launched to the ground by one strong swing of a weighted arm.

It was a strategic throw, Izuku thought in admiration as he found his body zooming closer and closer to where Todoroki struggled to stand. _Damn, Kacchan got me there, didn't he?_ he thought as he closed his eyes and prepared himself to break a few bones.

The crash of their bodies against concrete wasn't as loud, or as painful, as he expected. Somewhere below him, he heard the crisp sound of ice forming. Two arms, one encased in frost, went around him protectively as the force of impact made them slide smoothly over an improvised curve of ice.

He opened his eyes and found his body very much intact, and his face very close to Todoroki's.

"T-Todoroki-kun!" He stammered stupidly. He blushed as he realized that he didn't immediately struggle against the other boy's grasp. He rolled away from him in haste, pointedly keeping his gaze to the opposite direction.

Somewhere next to the arena, they heard the sound of sarcastic clapping, as only Aizawa-sensei had the capability of doing. "That's the match. Obviously, this match goes to Bakugou," he drawled.

Kacchan made a _tch_ noise as he removed the weights from his wrists. "Of course I was gonna win. These two fuckers didn't give it their all. Deku's moving around like a drugged snail, while this fuckin' Half-and-Half bastard's suddenly acting like a total noob. Oi, the hell is up with you two, haa? Go the fuck home if you aren't gonna take me seriously!"

Aizawa kept a neutral face, but concurred. "I expected Midoriya to slow down slightly because today I had him use heavier weights than you two. I figured he will benefit from strength training the most. But that's no excuse. Bakugou's right, your movements are slow and clumsy and predictable and you still show signs of hesitation. Don't think too hard on your movements."

Izuku stood up and removed the weights from himself too, letting them thud on the ice-covered floor. "Yes, sensei."

The teacher then turned to Todoroki, his gaze not hiding his exasperation. "As for you, Todoroki. Again, Bakugou's assessment of you is accurate, if not crude. Your use of ice seemed strategic, but you've somehow gotten worse using your fire."

Todoroki nodded, but didn't look apologetic at all. "I'll rethink my strategies," was all he said.

Aizawa sighed; Kacchan muttered another expletive against IcyHot. "Right. You three get off the field. Koda, Tokoyami, Shouji, go to your positions."

Izuku, body still sore, moved to leave the field. He watched as Todoroki stalked off the arena and to the locker rooms, not even looking back once.

* * *

The fights continued between his classmates. Izuku had his notebook wide open and his pencil hovering over its pages, fully intending to update his reference. But the green-haired boy suddenly couldn't concentrate. They were fighting in mid-air, for crying out loud; Tokoyami went full bird, Koda was using birds, and Shoji somehow did a flying squirrel type approach with his arms. Izuku couldn't, for the life of him, write a single word or draw a single illustration.

The fight concluded. Izuku didn't know how it happened, but Tokoyami won. Aizawa grumbled some tips about how everyone could improve, which went in Izuku's ear and out another.

"Midoriya-kun! Why are you frozen in place?"

He blinked as the boom of Iida's voice snapped him out of a daze he didn't know he was in. When he looked at him, concern was plain behind his glasses. "I-Iida-kun! I'm sorry, I was s-spacing out, and I didn't even realize…"

"Huh! Huh huh huh…! Interesting!" A patronizing voice piped out from under him. When he looked down, Mineta was grinning up at him smugly. "Midoriya-kun, you're getting _super_ weak, aren't you? That last battle was pretty messy, even if I have to say it myself…"

"Mineta-kun! That is an unfair assessment of Midoriya-kun's performance just now!" Even more offended for Izuku than Izuku himself was, Iida passionately karate-chopped the air in between green and purple with a strong, precise _whoosh._ "Aizawa-sensei clearly gave Midoriya an extra handicap than his opponents! Just because he lost, does not mean he is getting weaker!"

The smug look didn't leave Mineta's face. "Aizawa-sensei said that it wasn't an excuse, right? I thought Midoriya-kun was gonna bust his bones again back there! It was lucky that Todoroki caught him when he did." He wiggled a little strange, victory dance in his place. "But even Todoroki looked super close to being burnt out there… or should I say, iced out? Bakugou didn't even break a sweat out there!"

Izuku felt something sink inside him. Mineta was correct, of course. Today wasn't a good day. "You're right, Mineta-kun... I don't really have-"

Iida cut him off before he could give a lame explanation for himself. "Again, this is uncalled for! To engage in the practice of schadenfreude is very unproductive! I advise you to be more supportive of your fellow students!"

Mineta shrugged. "I don't know that fancy word you just said, Prez, but you should be a little happy too." He scooted over as closely as he could to the much taller Iida's ear, which was still quite far, and whispered not-so-discreetly, "If the hierarchy's falling apart, think of the chances that'll open up for mortals like you and me! You know what I'm saying, right? Yaoyoruzu's so close, you can almost touch her, right?!"

Affronted, Iida's jaw fell, causing his mouth to form the shape of a perfect rectangle. He sputtered, "What do you mean?! How despicable of you, Mineta! I ought to-I ought to-!"

Seeing the flustered Iida do one angry robotic movement after another, Mineta only laughed victoriously. An absolutely dark, perverted aura took over his eyes. Izuku practically saw a line of drool forming at the corner of his mouth. "Don't get me wrong, Prez, even though I'm doing you a favor by telling you about this, there's no way I'm giving up Yaoyorozu to the likes of-"

His tirade was cut short by a shot of tape suddenly wrapping around his mouth, and then the rest of his body, until he was a little grape-shaped mummy. As he squirmed and wriggled, Izuku saw Sero, Kirishima, and Tsuyu-chan walking up to them. "Hey, Prez. Midoriya. We'll take care of the pervert for ya," said the red-head.

Iida straightened out his body and looked so grateful he might have saluted his helpful classmates in the next moment. "You have my thanks."

"Another job for your friendly neighborhood tapeman, huh," said Sero in exasperation, already tired of having to do this almost on the daily. He lifted the protesting mass of tape and grape under one arm and flicked it on the nose. "Let's go get you to your time-out corner."

Izuku stared blankly as the duo, plus the struggling Mineta, walked away. He barely noticed Tsuyu-chan move closer to him. When she croaked in his ear, he jumped. "Midoriya-chan. Are you feeling down about today?"

Trying hard to will his freckles not to drown in a flush, he stammered, "I'm-I'm gonna b-be okay, Asu-Tsuyu-chan! I mean… even though I lost, I know what I need to work on… I'm just gonna get better from this point onward, right?"

The frog-girl looked up at him, her perfectly round eyes as hard to read as ever. He didn't know how believable he really was. "I suppose so, _ribbit._ I'm glad that you're so positive over this."

She gestured for him to come closer so she could whisper in his year. While Izuku struggled not to blush, what he heard Tsuyu-chan tell him kept the color at bay. "… Todoroki-chan went out by himself just now. He might be in trouble. I think you need to talk to him, _ribbit._ "

The green-haired boy's eyes widened. "You… you really think I should?"

Tsuyu-chan nodded with a ribbit. Truth be told, Izuku didn't need to ask. The girl was scarily observant, so if she finds the need to tell Izuku something, it probably needs to be done. But when Izuku expected her to elaborate, all she did was turn to Iida and say, "Iida-chan, we should go back to the classroom, _ribbit._ We have cleaning duties."

Iida made a sound akin to an exclamation point. "You are correct, Tsuyu-chan-kun! We mustn't dilly-dally further!"

They went their separate ways then. As he made his way out of Ground Gamma, he saw Tsuyu-chan give him another unreadable glance before she followed Iida out into the opposite direction.

* * *

It wasn't long before Izuku found Todoroki sitting by himself at a bench in the campus park, absently petting a large orange cat and staring blankly at the air in front of him. Seeing his morose expression, the boy knew that Tsuyu-chan was correct to worry.

Izuku walked to him closer, the crunch of the autumn leaves under his red boots announcing his arrival. Todoroki looked up briefly, an unreadable look in his eyes, before looking at the same spot in the air again.

"Is… this seat taken?"

When Todoroki didn't say anything, Izuku sat down on the bench anyway. The cat mewled, as if to greet him, and rubbed her head under Izuku's hand. The boy giggled and obliged. "Sweetie, you're so cute! Shinsou-kun's been overfeeding you again, huh?"

The cat purred between them contentedly. She placed her paws on Izuku's lap and reveled in the attention, pointedly ignoring the other boy, whose hand was suspended in mid-air with suddenly nothing to pet.

After an awkward moment of silence, Izuku heard him say next to him, "… I thought this was Aizawa-sensei's cat…"

He certainly didn't expect that it was the first thing they'd talk about. Izuku giggled again. "I don't think Sweetie-chan belongs to anybody. But she seems to hang around Shinsou-kun a lot. I see them hanging out in the morning sometimes, when I go for a run around here."

The taller boy made a small sound of understanding. Not having a cat to pet anymore, he shoved his hands in his pockets and resumed staring out into the distance.

"... Todoroki-kun-"

"Midoriya." His voice snapped crisply in the cool air between them. Izuku froze instantly. "If you're here to take pity on me, I don't need it."

"I'm not." Izuku tried to speak as if his words didn't sting. "I just thought that you didn't look okay, so…"

"I'm okay." Todoroki stubbornly glanced away from him and huffed. On a normal day Izuku would have found this outlandishly adorable, but on this day, it only made Izuku feel pretty stubborn himself, too.

"No you're not."

"Midoriya, stop being annoying."

"I won't. I don't want to."

Izuku didn't know why he said it, but he didn't want to back down. Now Todoroki was glaring at him. He wouldn't be surprised if he willed the freckled boy to burst into flame the next moment.

Luckily, he didn't. The boy looked away from him once more without flame or ice coming out of any part of his skin. "Todoroki-kun." Izuku said this a little more carefully this time. "I understand if you don't want to talk… but I just want to let you know that I'm here, okay? You don't have to talk about what's bothering you or anything. I can just stay here and be quiet, if that's what you want."

He'd learned his lesson with Iida before. If one of his friends was troubled, he'd be there for them, even if he had to force his stupid green perm in their faces and made them hate him.

Todoroki seemed to feel this from the piercing gaze of his green eyes and stared back at him challengingly. "... what if I want to be left alone?"

 _Then… that's that._ Izuku looked at his hands sadly. "… that's okay too," he conceded. "But… I don't think you should be alone," he added as a last desperate plea.

With a sense of finality, Todoroki didn't say anything more. Almost in defeat, Izuku moved to stand up and leave.

"... wait. Midoriya."

Izuku tried not to look too hopeful when Todoroki called out his name again. He seemed to not be sure of the thing he wants to say next. "… I didn't mean that. I don't mind if you sat with me."

"... you sure?"

Todoroki merely nodded. Izuku took his place again with a quiet sense of relief.

He didn't know how else to help him, save for quietly staring at the autumn leaves falling from the trees above them. Even Sweetie didn't know what to do, as she decided to hop off disinterestedly to leave them behind. Todoroki's mouth remained decidedly shut.

Although he knew that Todoroki was the exact opposite, Izuku wasn't a guy who liked long, calm periods of silence. So even though he tried his very best to remain silent, before he could stop his mouth, he heard his own voice speaking. "… hey, Todoroki-kun. Want to do something crazy with me?"

He was almost afraid to look at Todoroki's expression. After a beat of silence, he heard the taller boy's curious voice. "… what is it?"

"There's a place not too far from here." He pointed west, where the most extremes of oranges and pinks are staining the afternoon sky. "I don't know if you've been there before, but it's called the Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. It's not too far, it's like fifteen minutes by bus if there isn't traffic… It used to be a dump, but now it's really nice and pretty there, and I just thought you… you wanna go there and continue being quiet, if you want to…?"

He wasn't sure if Todoroki was listening to his ramble, the way his face remained blank. It took a few moments before he asked neutrally, "Isn't that outside campus?"

Izuku started to sweat guiltily. "Um…" He scratched the back of his head bashfully. "… yes… yes, it is."

"So we'd be breaking the rules."

"Yeah. Yeah, we would." Izuku sighed in defeat. "You're right. It's a stupid idea. Maybe we should just go to Mess Burger, or just… stay here…?"

Todoroki shook his head. "… I'd like to go there."

Izuku couldn't believe his ears. He stared at him dumbly. The taller boy was already standing up and waiting for him patiently to do the same.

"Oh. But if we get in trouble-"

"It's your idea, Problem Child. You're answering to Aizawa-sensei if we get caught," said Todoroki a little impatiently, a little teasingly. Strangely, the somber mood was lifting a little bit from his stance. Izuku couldn't help but smile.

"We won't get in trouble. Leave it to me," he said as coolly as he could, even though he knew that his coolness was almost non-existent next to Todoroki Shouto.

"Famous last words." Todoroki said this with a smirk as he turned to leave.

Acting as naturally as they could, the two of them left the park and made their way towards the campus exits.

* * *

The moment Izuku stepped out of bounds from the campus, he was worried that alarms would sound or robots would come chase them and throw them back on site and that they'd have to face the righteous wrath of Eraserhead. But much to his relief, nothing happened then. He stomped one foot on the ground as if to make sure, and when nothing happened again, he turned around with the biggest smile he could muster.

"Let's go, Todoroki-kun!" he said, holding out his hand.

Todoroki stared at him from across the border zone, obviously hesitant. For a moment, Izuku was worried that he would turn around and leave.

"... all right." Todoroki also stepped across the boundary and stood next to him. He turned to Izuku and nodded. "Lead the way, Midoriya."

They weren't in uniforms so that no-one would notice them, but Izuku knew that they both tended to stand out from the crowd. But they eventually reached the bus stop without anyone giving them a second look, and they made it on the bus without any further problems. It was almost too odd that things were going smoothly.

They took a seat next to each other, with Izuku taking the window seat. He tried not to blush too hard when he felt Todoroki's warm shoulder briefly bump into his when the bus started moving again.

"... this might be the first time I rode a public bus," he heard Todoroki utter in mild amusement next to him.

Izuku made a small sound of surprise. "Do you just take the train, or…?"

"Car. Endeavor doesn't want me to take public transportation," he explained curtly.

"... I see." Izuku couldn't ignore the way Todoroki's jaw clenched tensely as he mentioned Endeavor. Feigning ignorance very poorly, he looked away and focused on the scenery outside.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence, with Izuku trying to keep his heart leaping to his throat every time their shoulders bump into each other, and Todoroki passively observing other passengers get on and off. It seemed that the bus line catered more to the elderlies, as grandpa after grandpa alighted the bus.

Finally, Izuku saw the glimmer of the ocean from his window seat. He tugged on Todoroki's sleeve in excitement. "Look at that! Let's get off at the next stop."

He looked up and watched the scene reflected on Todoroki's eyes. He decided that this was much prettier than the sight of the ocean through the window.

They got off the bus, with Izuku leading the way and Todoroki calmly walking behind him. He gave in to the burst of courage he gained from his excitement and grabbed Todoroki's right hand and _ran_ without looking back to see the taller boy's reaction.

Finally, the concrete turned to sand and they were looking at the beach up close. The ocean wind was cold and instantly awakened all of his senses. Izuku felt his heart getting lighter and lighter. "Uwaa~ I'm glad it's still as clean as it was before we went to high school!"

"... yeah," came the usual stoic reply from next to him.

This time, Izuku dared himself to look at Todoroki. That small, almost-smile was on his lips as he stared out into the ocean, and the green-haired boy felt his heart getting lighter too. When he felt eyes on him, the taller boy turned to him and asked, "Should we hold hands the entire time, Midoriya?"

"What?… ah!" As if burned, Izuku let go of his hand and instinctively took a step back. "N-n-no, w-we d-don't have to! Ah, as I thought, it's strange to h-hold hands with me, r-right? M-my skin is so clammy and-s-s-sorry, I g-got carried away, and-"

"It's fine. I don't mind."

Izuku was covering his face in embarrassment by this time. He peeked through his fingers and gave the taller boy a questioning glance.

Todoroki nodded and pried one of Izuku's hands from his reddening face, causing all sorts of rockets and fireworks to explode in Izuku's little brain. "It's not strange."

"... okay," Izuku supplied weakly as he allowed Todoroki to grip his smaller, scarred hand in his cold one. Paradoxically, the sensation made him want to melt into a warm puddle and flow peacefully into the ocean waves.

"... but your skin _is_ a little clammy."

Izuku turned to him with his mouth wide open in offense. "Todoroki-kun, you're so mean!" he whined.

Todoroki chuckled then and gestured for them to move forward. "You told me that this beach was filled with junk before?"

He nodded vigorously. "Yeah! All-I mean, my favorite teacher from middle school told me that heroes have to do community work. When he heard that I was trying out for UA, he told me I needed to go beyond myself… so to get stronger, he made me clean this beach all by myself. You should have seen what it looked like before, it was super bad!…"

He went on to tell Todoroki about the entire summer he spent picking up litter, removing abandoned refrigerators, and rummaging through scrap metals; he was careful not to mention All Might by name. Just talking about his first few days with his favorite Hero when he was a middle-schooler made all sorts of feelings arise from Izuku's chest. Back then, All Might was so strong, so large that his shadow against the sunset of this beach enveloped the smaller quirkless him, who did nothing but cry like a baby.

Izuku grew a little stronger than his middle school self, and the fires of One for All had burnt out of All Might. It was a natural death escalated by an unnatural disaster; Izuku was still terrified of the heavy responsibility that came with the quirk, and sometimes the terror was enough to overwhelm him. Perhaps that was what happened to him today, too.

Next to him, Todoroki listened patiently to his sometimes incoherent babble, his mismatched eyes never leaving Izuku's face.

"... and then, on the day of the UA entrance exam, I threw the last piece of garbage away! And he told me I was ready, and now… here I am."

"Your mentor sounds like a good man," commented Todoroki quietly.

"He… he is." Izuku smiled. He looked at the sunset and remembered how All Might's smaller, emaciated form looked on that very spot, when he told the boy that it was up to him now. "He isn't the same as he was before, so… I just want to make him proud."

"... yeah. Proud," he heard Todoroki's voice softly utter beside him before a natural, comforting silence settled in between them.

The ocean waves gently embraced the shore a few feet away from them. The smell of salt, as the sea foam dissipated on the softened sand, tickled his nostrils pleasantly. The deep orange of the sun, as it descended closer and closer to the horizon between sea and sky, deepened Todoroki's red hair and cast a shadow over his scar so that Izuku could barely see it, standing next to him.

The feel of his hand inside Todoroki's was so… natural. He found himself squeezing every now and then, just to tell himself that it was real and he wasn't in another complex daydream. The taller boy didn't seem to mind this action very much.

He wished this moment lasted forever.

"... Midoriya," came Todoroki's soft voice once more.

"Yes?"

Izuku felt the other boy's thumb run across the smooth irregular skin of his scars once, making him shiver. And then, just as sudden as this intimate movement was, Todoroki let his hand go.

He watched as the taller boy inhaled sharply, shakily. His mouth opened, as if uncertain to proceed, before the words tumbled out. "... Endeavor might retire."

Izuku didn't reply. Instead, he felt his face soften in a quiet empathy.

The other boy's gaze was unreadable as it gazed numbly across the greying sea. He heard a shaky breath escape from his mouth, a line of cold trailing after his breath. "He… he called me yesterday. Fighting the Nomu destroyed a lot of his nerves and sweat glands all over his body. He isn't able to regulate his body temperature anymore. His doctor warned him that doing any of his special moves might result in him spontaneously combusting."

His left hand went up and reached for something invisible and unattainable in the air in front of him. A spark of flame emerged gently in his palm, only to disappear with a soft gust of wind. "In other words… in _his_ words… his flame is dying out. And that… being the number one hero is up to me now."

Todoroki's eyes didn't leave the sea. He remained quiet, as landmines tended to be quiet in wait underground. The glint from his cold, azure eye darkened slowly as the sun continued to set.

It felt like staring into an eye of a cyclone, and Izuku almost _felt_ the chaotic swirl of emotions in the other boy, taking his breath away from him. He tried to think up of something to tell him, anything to stop the way Todoroki's eyes started to shake from the tumult building up inside, but all he could whisper is his name. "Todoroki-kun…"

"... he apologized too." A strange sound escaped from his mouth, something between a sigh and a sardonic chuckle. "Said that… that he was wrong, and none of us deserved what happened to us, and that Touya-nii-san…"

His body suddenly swayed, and Izuku wordlessly reached out to hold onto his shoulders. "Todoroki-kun, it's all right, you don't have to…"

"Touya-nii-san," repeated Todoroki. His head was down, his shoulders shaking, his breath ragged, his voice strangely even, "he… he was going to _save him,_ he said. To make it up to us. To all of us. I don't… I don't know what he means."

"Todoroki-kun…"

"I don't know why it felt like he was saying goodbye." His voice was so low, Izuku had to strain to hear it. "I don't know how to feel. I don't know, Midoriya, I don't know…" Drops of saltwater formed at the bottom of his chin and fell on the sand underneath them. "If I only knew what was going on, then-"

Izuku didn't have time to think too hard on what he needed to do next. He wrapped his arms around him so tightly that he felt Todoroki's breath hitch in his throat for a second. He squeezed his eyes shut and felt their hearts beat erratically together, felt the dampness stain his shirt when Todoroki buried his face in his shoulder on instinct. When he felt the irregular breaths come in warm and cold puffs over his skin, Izuku breathed regularly, quietly urging him to follow.

"I am here." He said this, not because it was something that All Might said when people are hurting, but because it was true. He was there for Todoroki Shouto, whether it meant something to the other boy or not. He only prayed that the sound of his voice saying something so meaningless would provide even a modicum of comfort, or at least warmth, for the sorrowful boy that meant so much to him.

"I'm… scared," he heard him say quietly from within his embrace. Of what, he didn't say. For whom, he also didn't say.

Izuku just held him closer.

* * *

Before the sun set completely, Todoroki was able to calm down and dry his eyes. They stood up from the sand and made their way to the bus stop without a word.

Similarly, they rode the bus back to the city in complete silence, with Todoroki gazing at the darkening sky from the window seat, and Izuku carefully watching the sun glow from behind Todoroki's profile.

His hand bumped once against the taller boy's, and wordlessly Todoroki held it, letting their fingers entwine in the most natural way. Izuku felt his heart throb once more.

Before it was completely dark, they finally reached the UA campus. To Izuku's relief, nobody was waiting for them at the gates, and no alarms sounded. They walked quietly to the Heights Alliance dorms, with Izuku walking ahead.

"... Midoriya."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "Yes?"

Todoroki was a lot calmer now than he was on the beach, but again, uncertainty was apparent in his features. "… I need to thank you for today," he finally said after an uncomfortable moment of silence. "… you really helped me out. Again. I still feel… confused… but I truly appreciate that you were there for me."

The green-haired boy allowed a small, comforting smile play across his lips. "I'm happy I was able to help, Todoroki-kun."

Todoroki nodded. "For some reason, talking with you makes me feel better. There must be something about you, Midoriya."

Izuku tried his very best not to blush at this. "I-I-it's nothing, really, don't worry about it, I just-" His hand arm was going around his face in embarrassment as he felt his accursed mouth go off the rails again. "I just, really hated to see you troubled, and I just really… really… really didn't want to see you hurt, because I… care for you, and I love you, so I had to-"

He saw the way Todoroki froze in place before he realized what spilled out of his mouth.

 _… My stupid mouth!_ He clamped his mouth shut with two hands, almost activating his quirk on his face out of sheer horror. He turned around and avoided the pure bafflement on Todoroki's face and shut his eyes tight, internally cursing the easy outflow of tears that suddenly flooded his face.

"... Midoriya?" Todoroki's voice had the same neutral tone it always had, enmeshed with something else that Izuku couldn't define.

"I-" Izuku began, his voice still muffled by his hands. He was embarrassed, and flustered, and restless, but strangely, not an ounce of regret accompanied his sudden, accidental confession. He forced himself to straighten out his body and to face Todoroki, who had that questioning look on his mismatched eyes. "I… I meant it, Todoroki-kun. I… I love you."

Todoroki's eyes slowly widened, a million silent questions rising and simultaneously dying in front of his eyes. Izuku swallowed once, clenched his fists, ignored the tears flowing from his cheeks, willed himself to press on. "I love you… in the way that I told you what love was before… I… I have, for some time now."

The taller boy had no trace of emotion on his face-not anger, or hurt, or confusion, or bewilderment. There was only a quiet curiosity, and were it not for Izuku's tears already falling messily over his cheeks, he would have cried a little bit upon the next thing that left Todoroki's lips. "… why?"

 _Why?_ Perhaps it wasn't the word itself, but the heavy sense of self-hate that weighed the word down and made it hang heavily in the air between them. As if it was wrong, and unnatural. As if it was inconceivable for a boy like Izuku to fall in-love with a messed-up hybrid like Todoroki Shouto.

As if Todoroki didn't deserve to be loved.

"Because it's you," Izuku answered. He desperately held on to the string of courage that emerged out of nowhere and forced himself to look straight into Todoroki's eyes. "And not just because of your looks, or brains, or your ice, or your fire. Not just because you tolerate me, or because you talk to me, or because you… you happen to need me, right now…"

He clenched his fists on his side so hard, he was afraid that his bones would pulverize right there and then. "You… you don't need to give me an answer, Todoroki-kun. I mean, I can't imagine what you must be going through right now, and even though it's not the right time or I'm not the right one, I just… I just… I want you to believe me, because I'm telling the truth."

 _I love you._

After what felt like an eternity, Todoroki seemed to breathe. He moved closer to Izuku, and suddenly, the smaller boy found his face nestled softly against his warm shoulder, and felt one cool hand land gently against the skin of his neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.

"Please believe in me," he pleaded softly against his shoulder.

"I believe you." His voice was soft and true. Izuku felt tendrils of fire ignite from within his chest.

 _I love you._

"... okay."

He let him go then, and Izuku instantly felt the absence of the cold of his right hand, even as they remained standing close to each other under the darkening autumn sky.

"It's getting late," said Todoroki. Without uttering another word, he led the way to the dorms. Izuku took one heavy step after another two paces behind him.

When they reached the dorm, Todoroki disappeared into his room, leaving Izuku behind to deal with the worried questions and glances of Iida, Uraraka, and Tsuyu-chan, who waited for them at the common room.

"We just talked," answered Izuku tiredly. He couldn't offer a better explanation than that; his body was still numb from the accidental confession, and his brain felt fried beyond comprehension. He hoped that the waver in his voice wasn't too obvious. He pleaded with them to let him rest by himself in his room, just for tonight. He promised them that he'd feel better in the morning.

He shut himself in his room, closed his eyes, and let the tears fall as quietly as he could.

* * *

 **AN:** This chapter really, really, REALLY drained me. OTL. Do you think it's weird that Todoroki just holds hands with anyone in this fic? I think he's the type of person who would just let anyone do it to him because he doesn't think that it's a special thing.  
Do you think Endeavor's going to do something similar in the canon story? The way Natsu name-dropped Touya's name in front of his miserable mug made it look like a Chekhov's gun. Endeavor, what are you going to do? I wonder if Touya's really Dabi. I can't wait to see them in the manga again!  
Up next: Aoyama and Sero! And cameos from Satou, Koda, and Shoji!


	12. Should I Give Up

**Yes**

Chapter 12: Should I Give Up

Aoyama let the fine, shiny sprinkles fall over the last batch of macarons with one dainty hand. Seeing the twinkling pastries before him, he couldn't help but gush. "Ah, _ç'est merveilleux_! _Très bon_ , even if I have to say so myself!"

Satou nodded next to him as he dusted off his huge, muscly hands over his incompatible candy-cane apron. "I gotta admit, even though you're pretty weird, you're good at pastries, Aoyama. These look amazing!"

Aoyama turned to him, affronted, but somehow still kept his sparkly smile. "I shall pretend not to hear that, _mon ami._ Just say that our first baking collaboration is a twinkling success!"

[I agree!] Koda-kun, who had been shyly watching them from Satou's bed, as he cradled a very calm rabbit on his lap. [They're really cute, and they smell so good, even Usa-chan's mouth is watering!]

An odd scenario, yes? It wasn't everyday that Can't-Stop-Twinkling would grace these particular fellows in his class with his presence (those fellows being whom he nicknamed "The Muscleheads"), as he tended to spend his company with his favourite person in the world, which is Can't-Stop-Twinkling.

However, it was Satou-kun had approached him for assistance. The talented baker had grand plans to impress a mysterious someone who was interested in tea, and had intended to make her something French. Being the only Francophile in school, (apart from Class B's Monoma, who didn't look too stable), Satou took the risk and asked Aoyama for help.

Because he was a benevolent gentleman, Aoyama Yuuga graciously extended his assistance, on the condition that the baker would also give him some of the finished products. Galaxy Macarons were a little technical than expected, but to everyone's surprise, they were able to pull it off.

"I don't know about the twinkling part, but you're right!" Satou slapped Aoyama's back. The musclehead perhaps meant it playfully, but the delicate boy almost coughed his lung right out of his mouth at the sheer force of it. "We should bake again sometime."

"Ah, _oui, oui,_ but I am a busy person, you see? I only agreed with you because I, too, have a passion for patisseries! And because you were in need of my sparkling, amazing assistance!"

He spread his arms and channeled his inner beautiful white swan of benevolence, but was only met by a mildly annoyed eyeroll from the baker and a mildly confused stare from the animal whisperer. He swooped his arms back to his sides as if nothing happened, and cleared his throat.

"Now, Satou-kun, I shall be taking my half of the macarons." He pointed to the green-and-blue ones, made to look like the planet Earth, and the orange ones with stars, which was perhaps Venus.

"Oh yeah… the tangerine ones and the kale ones." Satou wrinkled his nose at the green macarons as he carefully placed them on a plate he set aside for Aoyama. "Weird choice of flavor, but you are pretty weird."

Aoyama gave a hearty _harrumph_. "You shall be keeping your half of the macarons," he pointed to the ones made to look like Neptune and Mars, which were Earl Grey tea and red velvet. "For whatever… _romantique…_ purposes they may serve, _oui?_ "

Satou turned as red as red velvet, while Koda giggled quietly in the corner. "Y-you didn't have to say it like that!"

"Ah, but if not for _amour,_ what else would it be, _mon ami?_ " Aoyama twirled and teasingly poked the taller man's cheek. "This mystery woman that you are giving these to, I am sure that her eyes would open to the possibility of you… and her heart, to the possibility of _amour!_ Ah! How radiant and full of love your future is, Satou-kun!"

"S-stop!" Satou pleaded desperately, as Koda had the silent equivalent of laughing his _la croupe_ off in his little corner of the room. "Don't tease me like this, man, I might lose my nerve!"

" _Non, non,_ a true gentleman must be true to his feelings!" He pat him reassuringly then, letting the sparkles cascade gently over the other boy.

Pink as he was in the face, Satou looked at his smaller classmate gratefully. "Thanks, Aoyama. I'm really surprised that you helped me, even if I didn't tell you everything."

"Ah, 'tis nothing." The lithe blonde smiled at him enigmatically, the sparkles never leaving the immediate atmosphere surrounding him. Of course, Aoyama knew just _who_ the macarons were for, even if the musclehead didn't tell him. If the way Satou tended to stammer and bungle within the proximity of this certain person had not made it apparent yet, the choice of refined flavours of the macarons made it glaringly obvious who the person was.

"Still…" Satou glanced at Koda, who nodded supportively at him. "You respected me enough not to bug me about it, you know? You and Koda here. Thanks for having my back. Oh! By the way Koda, here's the carrot macaron for you and Usa-chan."

Aoyama only nodded at this graciously. He prided himself in being quite the keen _observateur_. Perhaps it was the general assumption that he was self-absorbed, but people tend to lower their guards near him. After all, wasn't he was the first person to point out that Uraraka held a blazing torch for Midoriya-kun, even before the girl knew it for herself? Meanwhile, as unfortunate as it was, the green-haired _mouton_ in turn had his lamby eyes only for Todoroki-kun.

And Todoroki-kun-ah, such chaos, such disorder! Even Aoyama felt his head ache for the _glace chaude_ prince. He acted like a scoundrel back when he was 'Earlyroki', but Aoyama knew that no scoundrel deserved the troubles that the boy had shouldered recently.

That wasn't all he knew, of course. He knew all the details of the messy web of pining that involved almost all of the class. But he decided not to make things worse by talking or asking about it. He learned his lesson after seeing Uraraka-chan being overly troubled over her own realizations. So he decided after that to keep his beautiful, glossy mouth shut over it.

(And because most of his classmates wasn't very interested in listening to what he has to say anyway, this was surprisingly easy to do. But he digressed.)

[Thank you! And it's no problem at all! I'm rooting for you!] signed Koda, interrupting Aoyama's reverie. He broke the carrot macaron apart very carefully with his giant fleshy hands. [Usa-chan, Aoyama-kun made this for you. Isn't he cool?]

The rabbit nibbled at a small piece of the sweet cutely, making Aoyama's sparkles increase twofold. Ah, but he was already running late for his next appointment.

"Well then, I have things to do! _Mes amies, adieu!_ " He bounded for the door in graceful _en pointe_ skips, but was almost incapacitated the next moment when the door swung open and hit him squarely in the face.

"Aoyama-kun!" The largest of all the so-called muscleheads, Shoji Mezo, caught Aoyama with one strong arm, and the plate of macarons in another. Another arm emerged from somewhere behind and formed a disconcerting mouth. "Is your face broken? I didn't see you there!"

 _"Non, non, je vais bien!_ "

[He says he's okay], signed Koda, when Shoji made it plain that he didn't understand Aoyama's flawless French.

"That's good. Yo, Satou." Three arms went up to wave at the other musclehead. They then proceeded to have one of the most complicated, manly fist-bumps ever created on God's green Earth. Aoyama held back the impulse to roll his eyes-truly, straight men had the strangest rituals. "Something smells good. You're gonna try confessing to Yaomomo again?"

Satou froze mid-fist bump, and punched the multi-appendaged classmate in the shoulder instead. "Dude, it was supposed to be a secret!" He looked worryingly at Aoyama, who only twirled in reassurance.

" _J'ai rien entendu! C'est notre secret!_ "

[He says he didn't hear anything and that he'll keep it a secret], translated the quietly giggling Koda, who had a surprisingly good command of French. Aoyama, who was used to not being understood, suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of respect for the silent one.

Satou's shoulders sagged in relief, but all the same, elbowed the laughing Shouji on the ribs. "Sorry again! But thanks for protecting Satou's secret. We'll make sure he'll give the sweets this time, instead of chickening out and eating them during training."

"Very good!" Aoyama made another sparkling pose, earning him another uneasy set of stares. Ah, these gentlemen have no appreciation for good aesthetics whatsover. "I am afraid I am late for my next social appointment, so I shall have to leave!"

[Next social appointment?]

He only winked one twinkling eye in response and repeated his _adieu._ He saw the muscleheads stare at each other and then shrug simultaneously. Aoyama was an oddity, after all, and people tended not to ask when it came to him.

Even though it made him feel not-as-twinkly sometimes… he was used to it.

* * *

Aoyama made his way to his 'next social appointment,' which coincidentally, was only two doors away. He knew that he sparkled as he always did, but he couldn't help but fix his bangs a little bit before knocking on the door. " _Ouvre moi la porte!_ "

"It's open," said the occupant of the room. Aoyama inhaled excitedly and opened the door.

" _Mon chéri!"_ He did an obligatory sweep of one arm to announce his entrance. "I am a little late! However, see my offering of patisseries! You are welcome!"

Sero Hanta looked up at him from his spot on his hammock. As usual, his room had the comforting smell of a forest. A calming glow emanated from a nearby moon lamp, illuminating the bright colours of the _Yakan_ tapestries hanging on the walls. An obscure indie song about city life played in the background.

The grin never leaving his face, Sero shrugged. Whatever Aoyama was or wasn't, it never seemed to trouble him. "No cheeses today?"

"We cannot always have cheese! You said so yourself, 'tis not healthy!"

"I'm not sure if macarons are any healthier either," said the plain guy humorously. Nevertheless, he picked out one of the pastries off the plate and nibbled on one of the green ones. "Whoa, this tastes pretty… interesting? Is this kale?"

" _Oui._ And tangerines. I know you like tangerines," said Aoyama, sparkling proudly. "I graciously helped Satou-kun with his confections, and he gave these to me in return!"

"That's neat." The dark-haired boy seemed amused enough, but Aoyama instantly knew that something was off. Sero, like him, had a semi-permanent smile in the form of a toothy grin. While it was difficult for a normal person, the keen _observateur_ easily decoded one type of grin from another, and knew that today, trouble was afoot. He nibbled on one of the tangerine ones, and his usual Cheshire-like grin widened just a fraction.

Still, not as huge a fraction as Aoyama expected. The sparkling boy set the plate down on the bed and peered at Sero. "… anything wrong, _mon ami?_ You seem… a little _triste?"_

Sero made a face and cricked his neck, as he was wont to do when he felt vexed. "Is it that obvious?"

Aoyama nodded, his own perma-smile softening to one of understanding.

"Haha, sorry." The taller boy stretched out his arms and put them behind his head and stared wistfully at the ceiling. The action showed off his oversized elbows and ropy muscles. Aoyama's quiet appreciation followed. "I don't know why I'm like this either. If I'm killing your vibe, I'm sorry."

" _Non, non, ne t'inquiète pas pour moi!_ " Reflexively, Aoyama toned down his sparkles and turned to the other boy, who started swinging gently on his hammock, as if in an effort to comfort himself. "If you want to talk about it, I may be persuaded to listen. If you don't… that is perfectly all right, too."

Sero chuckled lightly, but the _triste_ , as Aoyama put it before, still hid somewhere under his smile. "You talk really weird, Aoyama, but somehow I always get what you're saying."

Aoyama tried to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat at the dark-haired boy's last sentence.

"... and… I know you usually do most of the talking when you visit, but if you can be persuaded to listen to my troubles, just for tonight, that'd be great."

" _Oui._ Of course." The blonde boy dropped himself on his stomach over the finely woven _abaca_ carpet near the hammock and cradled his head between two palms, ready and raring to listen.

Sero opened his tirade with a sigh. "I know you won't tell anyone else, right?" And then, as if not really used to sharing these sorts of things with anybody else, he said hesitantly, "I… accidentally saw Ashido and Kirishima… um… kissing."

He mumbled the last part of the sentence and flushed in obvious discomfort. Aoyama gasped dramatically. "Truly? A true kiss?"

Sero shrugged. "I… guess…? I tried to look away. Please, _please_ don't ask me if it's French. I know you're weird when it comes to French things, but please spare me."

The self-aware Francophile humphed, even though he was just about to ask that. "So, that Mina-chan and Kirishima-kun, eh?"

The boy turned his head to him and allowed a teasing grin on his mouth. "You're making that face again, Aoyama. You really hate her that much?"

"Ah _non non non!"_ the blonde boy denied, even as he puffed his cheeks in indignation. "I do not hate her, no, not at all!" And it was true; Aoyama thought that if push came to shove, he could trust Mina with his life, and vice-versa. "But you've seen how she treats me, yes? Whenever I try to speak or sparkle, somehow she seems to take the sparkles from me! Why, just yesterday during the triple match, when I was about to claim the shimmering glory of _victoire…_ she ruined my belt with her acid! And almost shattered my beautiful face with an uppercut! And then hurt my precious almonds again! _Sacré bleu!_ "

Sero laughed a little too boisterously at this, making Aoyama puff his cheeks a little more. "Didn't she do the exact same thing to you at the Sports Festival?"

" _Oui!_ She did not change her strategy at all!"

"Well, _you_ didn't change your strategy at all, either."

Aoyama knew it was true, of course. But, he really ought to stop his tendency to talk about himself, not when Sero needed his help. Back to the matter at hand. He looked up at the boy once more, who again was staring at the light fixtures on the ceiling. "So… you are upset that Mina has her own _chéri_ now?"

"Well, she said they weren't dating, but…" Sero paused and glanced at the blonde boy in curiosity. "Hey, is that what _chéri_ means?"

Aoyama sputtered, "I-It depends on the context, of course. It could also mean, close friend!"

He wasn't sure if the other boy was really convinced, but he just shrugged in acceptance. "Well… if you say so." He sighed again, that wistful look never leaving. "She says it didn't mean anything, so it's weird that I'm so bothered about it. I mean… even though I knew from the start that she only had eyes for Kirishima..."

Aoyama nodded understandingly at this. He'd known it from the start, too. It was rather obvious that the normally bright and brash and fuss-free Mina-chan would suddenly calm down and fuss over him, when she thought it was just the two of them.

"They're acting like it never happened. Which was what she promised me after I asked her about it. And I told her she could talk about it with _me,_ if she wants, but… she wouldn't, and that really makes me feel like shit."

"Mm-hmm." Oh, so that was it.

"So… is it weird that I'm the only one being weird about it? Is it bad that I feel bad that I feel bad about it?"

How many feel bads did he say again? Yet, Aoyama did not flutter his eyelids in confusion for very long. He knew exactly what was going on with Sero. "Have you acted differently around them?"

"No?" He swung on his hammock thoughtfully, and ended up sighing again. "Well… I hope not. I don't think so. Do you think I'm any different?"

Aoyama hummed. "Just a little bit different."

Sero knew that he was lying. "That bad, huh."

"Well, with Kaminari-kun, you act like yourself," added the blonde boy carefully. It was difficult for anybody to not act like themselves in front of the easy-going electrical boy, after all. "But… you have been acting a little quiet around your other friends."

"Yeah… I know. Shit, it's really obvious, huh." Sero laughed at himself then, and it sounded rather despondent. Aoyama felt some of his sparkles tone down in solidarity. "But can I really help it? I don't know what the heck's going on with everybody else right now, but it looks like people are getting lovesick left and right. And it's getting weird just watching it everyday in front of me. Not just the thing with Kiri and Ashido."

Sero put up his fingers, counting off the members of the so-called "Bakusquad" one by one. "Kaminari's still fucked up over Jirou and is flirting with anyone with a pulse to compensate. I don't wanna know what's going on with Bakugou and Uraraka, and I don't wanna judge, but it _really_ doesn't look healthy. Speaking of which, that guy has _no idea_ about how Kirishima's been pining for him after all this time. It's just… really depressing to see."

A strip of tape flew out of Sero's right elbow to claim one of his throw pillows on the bed. He let it flop over his face to make himself look more depressed.

"Hm… that is a pickle," said Aoyama, narrowing his sparkly purple eyes at him. "But is that really why you sound so hurt and confused right now?"

"... yes…?"

Aoyama humphed again and didn't let his twinkly gaze waver.

Even under his pillow, Sero turned away as if blinded by the twinkles. "… no," he finally admitted.

Aoyama nodded. That was all he needed to hear. At least the boy on the hammock finally said it. "I know it's none of my business, but were you even going to tell Mina-chan about your feelings before this happened?"

"... well… no…"

The twinkles didn't waver.

"I really wasn't!" Sero threw the pillow playfully in the other boy's face, making the sparkles fall to the floor. "I wasn't about to risk our friendship 'cause of my stupid feelings. I was okay giving up, you know… I was okay just… just being around her, but now staying around her just makes me feel… trapped, I guess."

The taller boy sighed then, as if he hadn't sighed enough. It was truly painful to see the normally easygoing, dripping-with-sarcasm, witty Cellophane reduced to a sighing, despondent mess such as this. It was clear to Aoyama that the situation was worse than he had initially thought, and that he needed to do something about it.

He wasn't being nosy. He just hated seeing Sero, one of Aoyama Yuga's favourite people after Aoyama Yuga, suffering like this. "That's not good! Lucky for you, _mon cher,_ I have an idea to make you feel a little better, _oui?_ "

Sero saw the look on his face and made his own face. "Are you going to make me watch _Les Enfants du Paradis_ again? Dude, I didn't get it then, and I won't get it now."

" _Non…_ although, that's not a bad idea, now that you mention it." Sero threw another pillow at him using his tape, and Aoyama had to clarify himself. "But that is not my idea! I am talking about… _twinkling!_ "

Sero gave him a prolonged judgmental stare before quietly pointing to the door. "You can leave the macarons here," he said, pulling the plate to him and munching possessively on the tangerine ones.

Aoyama made an offended sound. "I am serious! Have you ever tried it?"

"I don't even know how it's physically possible for anyone to twinkle as much as you do 24/7."

"Ah, _merci._ " Aoyama allowed himself to blush. He _did_ twinkle more than anybody else he'd ever known. That's why he liked himself so much.

"It wasn't a compliment, it was a scientific question." For all his sarcasm though, Sero was finally smiling for real. "And, maybe it's just you talking weird again, but what exactly do you mean by _twinkling?_ "

"'Tis not too difficult..." Aoyama gracefully stood up from the carpet, not minding the indents of the woven fibers on the skin of his elbows as he did so. With Sero watching in curiosity, he walked across the room and opened the window, letting the cool breeze of the evening in.

He looked up at the night sky. The sight of the stars over city lights always calmed him down, even as a little boy who wanted to be seen; it was why he chose his name Can't Stop Twinkling in the first place. Because, like the stars, he never wanted to stop shining.

And one of the few people who understood that and tolerated his presence frequently, was now standing behind him and looking up at the same stars. "So… what you meant by 'twinkling' is looking up at the stars?"

 _"Oui._ " Aoyama moved a little to the side to make room for the taller boy and his huge elbows. "Seeing all the twinkling lights millions and millions of miles away makes me feel small, but also makes my problems feel small too. It is why I thought you would like to see them too."

Sero put a thoughtful hand under his chin as he looked up. "No good. My window's too small. But this gives me an idea."

Before Aoyama could ask what the idea was, he felt Sero's strong arm around his waist, the sound of tape whooshing out of one elbow, and the ground from under him disappear. It took all the sparkles he had in him not to scream as Sero swung from the window and onto the rooftop, landing in a surprisingly well-executed flip.

Petrified, Aoyama had his shaking arms out as he stared incredulously at the tape boy, who only handed him the plate of macarons, all intact. "Y-you could have told me something! _Mon dieu!_ "

Sero shrugged. "I could have, but then I wouldn't see you making that face. It's pretty funny."

This time, Aoyama blushed for real. If it was because of the fleeting closeness to the taller boy, or the fact that he admitted looking at his beautiful visage, he didn't know. He looked away desperately so the other boy wouldn't see. "You are cruel!"

The other boy laughed, genuinely this time, and the pleasant sound of it made Aoyama's heart feel like floating. It was a good sound. He wished he'd heard it more often.

When he looked at his friend again, he was already sitting on the floor, his face to the sky, his dark eyes twinkling with the lights of the stars. The night breeze blew through his dark hair, making him look… not as plain as he usually did. His profile looked soft against the faint glow of the city lights, and Aoyama thought he really shimmered.

"... anyway… you're right about the stars, Aoyama. I think my head's a little clearer now." He closed his eyes then and probably thought about the girl he liked so much, the painful distance in between. When he opened his eyes, he looked up at the stars again and looked a little brighter for it. "… Thanks for showing them to me."

He motioned for the blonde to sit next to him on the floor, and he obliged.

"It's nothing," said Aoyama, feeling himself sparkling just a little brighter. "… I truly hope Mina-chan sees what a great person you are one day, Sero-kun."

Sero shrugged and remained silent. He kept his eyes to the sky and breathed in the cool evening air quietly.

The stars continued to shine above them.

* * *

 **AN:** So I wrote this intending to make Aoyama sad and/or jealous, but he ended up just being a great friend to everybody else, which is also fine by me. I love my sparkly boy.  
I used google translate for all the French terms. Sorry if it's awkward!  
Notes:  
\- Sero's room decor really looks Southeast Asian so I went with what I knew. The Yakan are a tribe in the Southern Philippines and their tapestries look really similar to what Sero had hanging up his room. I put in an abaca rug (Manila hemp) there because why not.  
\- Les Enfants Du Paradis is a 1945 French film. It's apparently a classic but when I watched the trailer it went way over my head.

Up next: ... will be a surprise. Even to me. Hehehe.

Please let me know what you think of the stories so far. I appreciate all your lovely comments and kudoses. Thank you for reading!


	13. If I Get Hurt Like This

**Yes**

Chapter 13: If I Get Hurt Like This

* * *

The hallway was dark, and deep, and foreboding. A faint light leaking from the cracks of a dull orange door provided a very bare illumination of his surroundings. Within himself, the beast started to cackle; Tokoyami Fumikage felt himself tightening the rein around Dark Shadow as he carefully tread his way towards the light.

Perhaps it was the lack of silence that kept the darkness at bay. The heavy sound of a bass guitar messily flooded his senses, accompanied by a haunting, melodic voice that he knew very well. He stopped near the door, closed his eyes momentarily in a motion to savor each sound. He listened to the melancholic song:

 _ _I don't need the world to see  
That I've been the best I can be, but  
I don't think I could stand to be  
Where you don't see me.__

 _ _Another unfortunate soul trapped in the abyss of limerence__ , he thought darkly. He did not know why he hesitated a bit before entering the door, but he pushed through and let the light flood over him.

It was an empty room in Heights Alliance meant to be a study area. Nobody ever thought to use it until the Cultural Festival, when the band needed to burn many nights perfecting their song. Among her many other efforts in ensuring their victory, Jirou Kyoka had the walls padded with candy-pink soundproofing material and placed a drum kit and an intimidating set of amplifiers there. In gratitude to her, the class practically gifted the room to her, for her own purposes as she sees fit.

She used the room every now and then to play her music. He knew that there was no other real purpose to her playing now except to improve her craft and to let off steam. Hence, when she would ask the other members of the band to play with her, Tokoyami tried to be there for her, if only to help her stave the darkness within her.

She stood with her back to him, her lean form clad in a dark tank top and ripped blue jeans. Her left arm, heavy with shiny metal adornments, moved up and down the bass guitar's neck as she played one note after another. Her hair, an asymmetric dark purple curtain, remained straight even as her head bobbed up and down to the rhythm of the song, the fringes of shadowing the pale skin of her neck and shoulders.

The click of the door and his light step was enough to startle her into stopping her morose melody. She turned to him, dark triangle eyes glinting in recognition as she did so. "Hey, Tokoyami. How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long." He stepped closer to her and allowed Dark Shadow to lift the leather guitar case off of his back. "Where are the others?"

Jirou shrugged nonchalantly. "Kaminari's cramming all his homework for the past month. Bakugou's got other fucking shit to do, in his own words. And Momo… I mean, Yaomomo-"

The girl, obviously suddenly hesitant, twirled one elongated earlobe around one finger and bit her lip. "She's busy with class rep work," she said, as if just making up her mind to say it.

Tokoyami only nodded silently. Just the mention of their raven-haired vice-president allowed a heavier shadow of longing to loom over her features, so much so that he felt Dark Shadow, who fed on negative emotions, lick his jowls in anticipation.

Perhaps that was why the demon was so lively nowadays. Dark Shadow had his preferences for Tokoyami's acquaintances, and lately he seemed to thrive around Jirou Kyoka's aura. The crow strengthened his hold on him in his mind before willing the demon to do his bidding. The beast floated out of his jacket, carrying the guitar in his shadowy wings. "This is it," he said simply as the shadow beast proudly lifted the instrument towards the dark-haired girl.

Her mouth opened in an impressed "o." A beautiful glint appeared in her dark eyes as they appraised it up and down. "A Jackson King V, huh? Real nice. You know, when you told me you had a guitar at home, somehow I knew that you had a Jackson."

"Truly?"

"Yeah. I dunno, it fits you I guess." Jirou placed her bass-a black Fender Squier, a simple instrument that suited her well-and carefully took the guitar from Dark Shadow's wing. "Yep, real metal, Tokoyami. Real excited to jam with you already!"

Dark Shadow's eyes narrowed down to two crescents-the equivalent of a teasing smile, perhaps. "Wait 'til you see how Fumikage wields this weapon. It looks positively __dreary__ on him."

The beast's voice sounded like a rumble from the deepest recesses of the earth that speaks directly inside the convolutions of your memory. A visible shiver ran up and down the skin of Jirou's arms, neck, and ears as the voice spoke to her. Despite this, she managed a shaky laugh. "Was that meant as a compliment to you, Tokoyami?"

"I know not," replied the crow. He sent a cold glare in Dark Shadow's direction, who only bared the fang-like silhouette underneath its dark beak. "So it is just the two of us for this session."

"Yeah… unless Kaminari catches up. Which I highly doubt. Since nobody wanted to help him, it'd probably take another hundred years before he finishes his work." She wore the bass around her body again and gave him a grin. "So, y'know. We could play a little more metal than usual, if you like."

Thanks to the cunning beast inside him, it only took a few moments for the bird to arrange his set-up. Tokoyami wore the triangular guitar around him, only noticing then how similar the shape was to the girl's dark eyes. "I shall play any ominous melody that you so choose for this night."

"Sure. Wanna play Lacuna Coil?"

He nodded, stepped on a reverb pedal, and started plucking out the beginning notes of __Our Truth__ -it was one of the songs that they practiced before, on the rare occasion that it was just him and her and Bakugou. Without the hot-headed drummer yelling at him to up the distortion, their sound was a little bare. That said, Tokoyami much preferred this quieter, more intimate session for many reasons.

One of them was how he was able to hear how full and rounded and precise her voice was, as it was then, when she started singing the first "oh-ahhs" of the song. Yes, this was something that he did not appreciate as much when the noise of the maddening crowds or the manic drumming of the King of Explosions dampened her voice. Each exact rise pierced through his skin and feathers like light through the shadows; each fall plunged portions of his soul into the comforting darkness of the abyss.

It was… exhilarating. So much so that he felt Dark Shadow still within him. So much so that he didn't notice that his mouth was opening, and a voice he didn't know was his began to accompany her melancholic tempo.

He only noticed this when the heavy thrum of the bass stopped reverberating through his body. He opened his eyes (surprised that he was enthralled enough to close them in the first place) and met Jirou's stunned gaze.

"... Tokoyami," she uttered, her precise voice barely above a whisper.

The glint in her dark eyes intensified by the second. It was difficult to look away, yet he willed himself to, thankful that the dark coloration of the feathers on his face could not possibly turn red. "I… apologize. I must have been out of tune."

Jirou gasped and shook her head frantically. Her ear jacks flailed about just as frantically. "N-no way, on the contrary! Your voice is… is…!"

"... abysmal," he stated shamefully. He sat down on the floor, suddenly too embarrassed to stand next to her, and pressed on the pedal with his hand.

"Magnificent!" Her face made it seem so, if the way her usually morose expression turned bright within half a second was any indication. It was so bright that Tokoyami felt the shadow within him flinch. When he started to look further away, the girl sat down next to him, leaned over and pushed her face closer in his face. "I'm serious, dude! My ears don't lie! You could sing solo if you wanted to!"

Tokoyami forced the corners of his beak to turn downward. "I… I do not think that's-"

"Come on, humor me. Anyway, it's just the two of us for today." She sat with her legs crossed and cradled her bass over one thigh. With just a knowing smile on her lips, she started plucking the first notes of one of the songs on the mixtape she'd sent him once.

How much brighter can her smile go? It felt like staring at the halo of a lone candle at a stormy night. Dark Shadow continued to shrink, albeit smugly, within the dark confines of his hoodie.

 _ _Are you uneasy, Fumikage?__ The shadow teased. He inhaled deeply and played his notes alongside hers, and hesitantly began to sing,

 _ _Tilling my own grave to keep it level__

 _ _Jam another dragon down the hole;  
Digging to the rhythm and the echo of a solitary siren__

 _ _One that pushes me along and leaves me so-__

 _"_ _ _Desperate and__ ravenous _ _,"__ Jirou sang along with him, still bright despite the utter despair of the words. It was surprising how flawless their voices merged together, how weighted the words were, like the wailing chorus of lost souls from the depths of a dark volcano.

 _"_ _ _So weak… and powerless,__ " Tokoyami continued, his eyes closing naturally as the sounds assaulted the fibers of his being. " _ _Over you…__ "

The weight of the words… yes, they truly were heavy. Even though her ears were on his voice, her eyes were somewhere else entirely. He tried to focus on the complex movements of his fingers on the fretboard instead of the shadows over her eyes.

 _ _It doesn't have to be that way,__ Dark Shadow whispered into his ear, like the fabled snake in the garden.

Tokoyami ignored the demon. His voice floated away from his throat, the modulated tones growing ever distant, chasing the emptiness that her eyes were stubbornly focused on. He continued to strum his guitar and plowed on.

 _ _Do you know, Fumikage? What you could do to a human in despair? What lengths they will go to?__

He closed his eyes resolutely and willed himself to focus on the words. _"_ _ _Little angel go away/come again some other day/ the devil has my ear today/I won't hear what you say-__ "

 _ _Her presence is frustrating to me, you know,__ Dark Shadow continued to whisper within him. He could imagine the crease of his disconcerting glowing eyes as the cunning voice pressed on. __This girl is addicted to despair; she clings on to the feeling of loss. It is the only reality she is able to see in front of her.__

Tokoyami knew that very well. Living in the grey, staring at the abyss, struggling not to lose himself within, struggling against the blinding light; it was a reality that he'd lived with, since the demon in him manifested in his youth.

 _ _Yet… her brightness stings me. Her voice fills my head with a noise that I know not how to silence. The sound of her instrument makes me shake and shudder, as if I were simultaneously in the harshest winter and the warmest summer-__

 _"_ _ _He promised I will find some solace and some peace of mind-"__

 _ _Yet, your despair, your__ desire __for her, well__. The voice chuckled low in his ear. He'd dealt with many dark nights listening to the ghost within him, but for the first time that evening, his words made a drop of cold sweat fall slowly down the back of his neck. __The growing darkness makes me stronger.__

" _ _-whatever just as long as I don't feel so-__ "

Jirou's far away look broke momentarily, and she returned Tokoyami's unreadable gaze back to him.

 _ _What will happen if I give you what you want? Will it save you? Or will it hurt you?__

She didn't have the time to stop her playing when the crow uttered a flabbergasted, "What?!"

Suddenly, the room was engulfed in complete darkness. Tokoyami heard their instruments fall to the ground with an ugly sound that reverberated on all the amplifiers. He felt the wind escaping his lungs as a dark force enclosed upon him and pushed him forward; within the darkness, he heard the stifled scream of the girl in front of him, and all he could think of was to keep her from falling into the never-ending night-

He steeled his heart, clenched the reins over the demon with all his strength. "Dark Shadow, stop!"

That single command was enough for the shadow to suddenly disappear with nary a sound; the artificial whiteness of the fluorescent lamp above their heads stung his eyes momentarily and made it difficult to regain his bearings. When his vision came back, he found himself facing downwards, his arms on the floor-

His eyes stared directly into dark ones, partially hidden under a disheveled purple fringe. He was so close, he smelled the jasmine on her skin, saw faint traces of red where she drew triangles over the skin of her cheeks. He felt her breath over his beak in stunned, warm puffs, felt it enter through his nose, down to his lungs, and he found it hard to breathe.

She stared back at him, eyes wild with fright. "T-Tokoyami-what happened-"

"J-Jirou-kun," he stammered. He tried to raise himself on both arms and gave her room to move from underneath him, but she was so frozen that even his limbs protested. "I-I don't know what got into Dark Shadow, I wholeheartedly apologize-"

"Yo! I'm here! I didn't think I'd make it within a hundred years, but-"

Like another sun ray cutting through the deep violet dusk, Kaminari's voice cut through the stunned air between them. Tokoyami saw his bright face slowly and silently fall into one of utter confusion, his jaw dropping figuratively to the floor. "What… are you guys…"

"I d-don't know either!" Jirou's face was a little pink as she said this. She finally found the strength to pull herself out from under him and dusted herself off. "But, Tokoyami, seriously, what happened? What got into Dark Shadow?"

Shame overwhelmed all his senses. He felt the demon within him chuckle in a sordid delight. "Perhaps the dark melodies encouraged him to cause mischief. He is capricious, from time to time."

"Dark Shadow did that? Damn." The shock now fading from his face, Kaminari hummed in understanding. His bright countenance flooded the room, making the demon shrink further within his jacket. "Man, it must be hard having to control Dark Shadow like, all the time! If it were me, I'd just let him chill and do whatever, but I guess even he gets bored, huh?"

 _ _Bored?__ The demon laughed inside his head. __This boy understands me. Odd that he of all people would restore the balance, eh, Fumikage?__

Jirou, thankfully, also looked at him with understanding. "I guess I shouldn't have forced you to sing... I didn't think that Dark Shadow would act out like he did." She bashfully bowed her head in front of him. "Sorry, dude. Won't happen again."

Tokoyami wanted to stop her from apologizing, because really, it was all thanks to Dark Shadow's twisted schemes to feed off of her negative energy more and more. But could he really admit to such a morbid thing? He did not want Jirou Kyoka to be scared of him. If anything, he preferred…

 _ _I didn't do it for myself, Fumikage.__ The demon cackled once more in his ear. He gripped at Dark Shadow so tightly that the demon winced.

Before he could come up with an excuse, Kaminari piped up, "W-wait, you made Tokoyami sing?! And I missed it?!"

"Yes." How odd that Jirou's bright smile was back on her face. Her dark eyes fell on Tokoyami's; a frenetic drumming began to play in his ears, which he would realize later on was his heartbeat. "Shame you didn't hear it. He was pretty awesome."

Even Dark Shadow didn't know what to do with the violent flux of emotions that surged through his chest.

The blonde's mystified gaze went from him to the girl. "Uh, so, by any chance, Jirou… are you bisexual now? Or pan…? Or wait, are you __birdsexual__ now?! You're unfair! Do I-do I stand a chance now? I mean, I can wear a bird costume if that's what it takes-"

"What the fuck, BaKaminari?! You idiot, don't say stupid shit like that outta nowhere!" The earjacks extended to stab the hapless blonde boy in both eyes, making everyone in the room flinch.

"You just made bedroom eyes at Tokoyami, what the fuck am I supposed to think?! Oww…."

The two continued to bicker in front of the crow, with the girl turning red in the face like a blood orb and the blonde boy's face turning duller and duller by the second. The teasing words came from one side to the other, sparking like an electric storm, so bright and lively that Tokoyami felt Dark Shadow retreat further into his jacket, like a balled-up cat.

"Aaah! I'm so freakin' jealous, Jirou! You're making it sound like he has the voice of an angel!" He heard Kaminari whine to the smug girl.

"It's your fault. If you didn't need to cram, you woulda been here earlier." She had a devious smirk on her face. "You know, I don't feel like jamming anymore, Jamming Whey. Just arguing with you tired me out."

"Wheyyy?!" The blonde protested with a curious sound. "You're unfair! If you saw how hard I worked on the math homework-"

"What I do feel like is having coffee." Blatantly ignoring the blonde boy's miffed rambling, she looked at Tokoyami brightly. "What do you say, dude? It's not past curfew yet, and we could walk to the Starbucks nearby if you like."

She held her pale hand out then as a gesture of invitation. The darkness surrounding her was suddenly thin, like a shadow at noon. He knew that a creature of darkness like him would never have such an effect on her. He did not know yet how to feel about that.

Kaminari stood next to her like the sun. How did he get to a point in his life that he became friends with a person such as this? Staring at them was not like staring at the abyss at all. It was the opposite of the Shadow that sustained him, that threatened to destroy him; that pulled him under unless he tirelessly gripped on its reins.

The tired him did not think that the lightness would feel so… liberating.

"... I suppose coffee would be good," he said finally.

She grinned happily, and he felt a little freer for it. "Good. Kaminari, since you're late, you should pay."

"Wheey?! B-but I came here to jam, and now you're scamming me outta my allowance-"

"Shut up. It's coffee now. I want the new French cold brew please."

And so that's how the curious evening ended, with their guitars strapped to their backs, their eyes to the dark evening sky, the stars shining over the canopy of utter blackness. Kaminari walked between them, both arms hanging over their shoulders as he yammered on about writing the new words to Jirou's latest song online. The girl, in turn, only resumed relentlessly teasing him, causing the boy to close the gaps further between the three of them.

As Tokoyami continued his usual silent brooding, he allowed the lightness to take over his heart, the scent of jasmine and spice entering his lungs, thinning the darkness within him.

Despite the darkness of the night, Dark Shadow did not stir.

* * *

 **AN:** Originally I was gonna write a TokoTsuyu, but that proved to be difficult, and I ended up delaying the Tsuyu-chan chapter for next week and to write a band story instead. ^_^ I don't think TokoJirou's been explored by many other writers before (never mind tokokamijirou, which I must confess might become my next fav OT3), and that makes me a little sad because I think it has a lot of potential? Although after a while it was a little hard to write other words describing darkness and misery and Dark Shadow just turned eviller and eviller sooo yeah Tokoyami's rather a challenge to write.

Other notes  
\- with Momo in mind, Jirou sang Francis Forever by Mitski (another song covered by Marceline from Adventure Time too ^_^ fav bassists... Bubbline = MomoJirou?)  
\- Second song was Our Truth by Lacuna Coil. Can imagine Bakugou going crazy with this song  
\- Tokoyami sang Weak and Powerless by A Perfect Circle from their album Thirteenth Step which is about the struggle against drug addiction... although obviously I interpreted the heavy song a little differently here... I hope no one is offended  
\- Tokoyami and Kaminari would totally do rockin' covers of Tenacious D. can u imagine Master Exploder! or Beelzeboss feat Bakuboss .  
Man I could go on and on about the band and my endless playlists for them aargh I can't wait for it to be animated

Up next: the kirikacchako conclusion that no one asked for


	14. Just My Luck

**Yes  
** Chapter 14: Just My Luck

* * *

Saturday, six in the morning. The crimson-haired 1A student stared at the door, clad in a tank top, sweat pants, and running shoes. His muscles tensed as the minutes wore on, his uneasiness exponentially rising by the second.

The inside of the room was silent for a long while, meaning the person who was supposed to be inside was steadfastly asleep. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to knock. But he had a good reason to-Saturday morning was __their__ thing, and he supposed that it wouldn't be __wrong__ to ask if it still was. Kirishima breathed in deeply before knocking on the door.

He heard a high-pitched yawn from the other side, followed by the shuffling of slippered feet on the tiled floor. The doorknob rattled in a less precise way that he was used to. As the door opened a crack, a face that wasn't supposed to be there greeted him.

"... Uraraka-chan?"

Uraraka Ochako looked up at his stunned form, still obviously delirious from sleep. She gave him a sleepy smile, her pink cheeks lighting up a little. "Hrm. Hey, Ei~ good morning…"

"Sssh!" Kirishima clamped her mouth shut with one large hand. He tried his best not to be too rough as he rushed her back to the safe, private confines of Bakugou's room. He peered at both ends of the hallway before closing the door behind him as quietly as he could. "You should really be more careful. If you get caught-"

Uraraka lazily blinked at him and only realized her mistake shortly after. "OMG." She giggled liberally after in an almost drunken fashion. "I totally wasn't thinking… for a second there I thought I was in my room. Sorry, Kirishima-kun, it's way too early for me to think… I'm a little disoriented."

"I can see that." It was only then that he was able to completely see that she was wearing almost nothing apart from Bakugou's oversized muscle shirt. A bit of her naked flesh was clearly visible at the large arm holes; too late he noticed the curve of the side of her breasts as she raised one arm to scratch the side of her head bashfully. He looked away and tried not to let his face turn too crimson. "I can also see other things. Uraraka, can you please-"

"Oh. Sorry." Apparently it was also too early for Uraraka to feel embarrassed. As if she didn't just accidentally flash Kirishima, she nonchalantly picked up one of Bakugou's hoodies from the floor and pulled it over her head. "Better?"

"I guess?" She was still in a place where she shouldn't be. They-yes, they, including Kirishima, since he was now technically an accomplice-risked explusion by this very act. So he really couldn't say that Uraraka's poor attempt at modesty was any better.

She smiled up at him. Her voice was still husky from sleep when she spoke again. "So, what are you doin' visiting King Explosion Murder so early in the morning?"

It wasn't __that__ early in the morning. His Saturday mornings were usually spent with the so-called King of Explosions. They'd run 10 kilometers together around campus, after which they'd spend an hour at the gym, and then another hour at the yard to practice their quirks. Lately it was the only time he spent alone with Bakugou, who was busy the rest of the time with-well, the unlikely sight before him-and he was __really__ looking forward to it.

"It's okay. We were supposed to work out, but…" The crimson boy sighed. "He's obviously still out cold."

True enough, while Bakugou Katsuki should have been up and about by this time, he was sleeping quite contentedly on his bed. A blanket enclosing a space the same size and shape as Uraraka was under his arm.

He knew that no amount of their talking will get the boy to wake up. Kirishima heard this and that happening past the wall the night before. Things that kept him up all night for other reasons than the noise interfering his sleep. He was thankful that it was just him and not some other noisy person in class who was subjected to it.

(Then again, the 'thing' between Bakugou and Uraraka seemed to be a well-known secret that no-one dared to ask about. Kirishima had a feeling that if anyone asked about it, there was an equal chance of Bakugou admitting it outright or making the person explode on the spot.)

"Kirishima?"

The crimson boy turned to the hazelnut girl. Her eyes were a little more awake than they were moments ago, shining with curiosity.

"Yes?"

She smiled at him gently. Without a trace of hesitation or malice or cunning in her usually bright voice, she asked him, "Do you hate me?"

"Wh… what?" He must have had a ridiculous expression in his face as he stammered, because the girl started to puff her cheeks to stop from bursting out loud. Uraraka allowed herself to giggle softly when he was able to calm down. "Why would you ask me something weird like that? Of course I don't hate you…"

She shrugged as if it was a normal question about the weather. "I'm not blind, Kirishima-kun."

"What are you talking about?"

"You really want me to say it out loud?" She said this, again with no hint of malice in her cheerful voice. "I… I've noticed you a lot, you know. And I know the way you look at Katsuki."

The way she said __Katsuki__ came for his heart like a sniper. He felt his own face fall. Uraraka looked at him with more clarity than ever before.

"That's what I mean. And… I'm sorry, I don't exactly have filters at around this time of day… I'll call him Bakugou-kun instead, if you're more comfortable with that."

She called him __Katsuki__ , when it was just the two of them. Of course she did. On her mouth, the name felt so __natural.__ It was something that he wanted to do for so long, but to say his name like that would no doubt be odd. Katsuki would kill him on the spot. "... It doesn't matter," Kirishima reassured her. He returned her curious look back to her. "Uraraka… how about you?"

"Me?" She tilted her head with a genuine curious look in her wide brown eyes.

"Yes. How do you feel about Bakugou?" It took some courage for Kirishima to ask this. He knew whatever the hazelnut girl would tell him, it would send him spiraling into confusion. But he felt that it was his duty as Bakugou's best friend to know about it, anyway.

She took a spot next to him, squatting low next to the bed and peering at Bakugou's peaceful face. "Who would think that a face like that would scream bloody murder in the next 16 hours that he's awake, eh?" The look of fondness on her face spoke volumes.

"... yeah." Kirishima agreed weakly.

Silence fell over them naturally. The bright bars of sunlight streaming through the window landed on Uraraka's cheeks, intensifying the curious glint within her brown eyes as she stared at Bakugou's face. She breathed so quietly Kirishima could almost __hear__ the confusion clicking in her head, like gears turning in random directions.

She turned to him just as quietly, a new embarrassed look obvious in her face. "I don't know," she finally mumbled, more to herself than to the boy waiting on her answer with bated breath.

Kirishima released a breath. He understood her very well, yes, but, he allowed a little disbelief to color his next words. "You don't know?"

"No." She smiled at him bashfully, a tinge of red dusting her already pink cheeks. "This thing between us… isn't really, um… __normal?__ Even though sometimes I want him all to myself, and he tells me the same… I don't know if it's real, or valid, or if I should really be here, wearing nothing but his clothes. You know?"

She was so unsure, yet there was an odd calm about her. She rubbed one hand against one arm. Kirishima felt that she looked so small, so __fragile__ in Bakugou's clothes, even though the other boy would probably kill anyone who would describe her as such. Another moment of silent pondering passed, and Uraraka looked up at him again, her lower lip released from a bite of thought. "I know it's unfair… he never asked me about it, and I guess because of that I never asked myself… how I truly feel about him."

"... I see." He allowed himself to squat next to Uraraka, unsure of how to approach her. Did she need to be comforted? Did she need help in sorting out her thoughts? Did she even need Kirishima to do that?

She tilted her head once more at him. "I'm not like you, Kirishima. The way you look at him. It's very… decided. Like he's the reason for you to get up each day. Well, at least one of them. The other is the very concept of manliness, I suppose."

She beamed at him like a light bulb. He felt his face flush at her candor, and he couldn't think of anything to say back.

"You know…" There was a mischievous look on Uraraka's face as she said this. "… we could do whatever we want to Katsuki now, and he wouldn't wake up. That's how much I tired him out, when we did this and that-"

"Uraraka, please, I heard everything through the wall. I __know__ exactly how you tired him out. I don't need details."

She laughed. It was almost cute how unashamed she was of herself. "Then you should have joined us! I wouldn't have minded, and I'm sure Katsuki would like having you there-"

Kirishima felt his face explode. He hated himself that he started imagining things. "J-join?! What are you talking about-"

She placed a hand on his shoulder. Kirishima noted how calculated this movement was as he saw her pinky straight up in the air. "Kirishima. I'm gonna take advantage of the fact that I have zero filters and zero shame as a direct result of you waking me up from a deep slumber-"

She carefully guided him by the shoulder for him to sit on the floor, his face perching very close to the snoozing Bakugou. He started stammering, his face more crimson than was legally allowed. "Uraraka-"

"I'm not here," she winked at him. She stood up so that her bare thighs were almost level with his stunned eyes. "Well I'll be here, stealing his instant coffee… but I won't see anything."

She turned around to do just that, rummaging through Bakugou's drawers for two mismatched mugs and two stick-sachets of Indonesian coffee. He simmered upon the ridiculousness of his morning so far and tried to gauge whether he was __insane__ enough to go along with Uraraka's whims…

His eyes naturally darted to Bakugou's face. Smooth, like a newborn babe's thanks to the glycerin in his sweat. Not a single muscle on it was tensed, as it was perpetually during his waking hours. It felt like watching a lion sedated by tranquilizers.

No, a dragon. A dragon without its guard or claws or fire. Only warmth. Wasn't it just his luck to fall for a volatile guy like this?

Doubt and hesitation threatened to paralyze him in his tracks. He looked back, and as promised Uraraka had her back on the two of them. __Whatever,__ he thought stubbornly as he moved his face closer to the sleeping boy's.

Bakugou breathed quietly.

The smell of caramel invaded Kirishima's lungs, and he felt all the doubt and hesitation melt away. __Closer,__ he thought, allowing himself to be lost in the heady smell of nitroglycerin, and something that smelled like the girl across the room-

Carefully, as if he was defusing a bomb, he placed his lips silently on a bit of his skin illuminated by a bar of sunlight shining through the window.

Bakugou's skin felt as smooth as it appeared. The taste of him was as sweet as he smelled. Kirishima felt sparks over the skin of his lips as they made contact; he was sure that if the boy's quirk were to detonate in his face right then, the crimson boy wouldn't regret anything in this moment.

To his shock, however, Bakugou's head moved, ever so slightly, as if searching for the point of contact.

He felt the rumble of the blonde's voice over his skin. In the next moment, probably entirely by accident, his lips were suddenly over Bakugou's.

The time stretched before him. As if the timer on the bomb stopped counting down to destruction at the last second. On reflex, Bakugou opened his mouth and licked the other boy's lips lazily. Kirishima felt his heart stop and his knees give.

Something vibrated against his lips when the fiery blonde opened his mouth once more. "… rnd fce?"

Yes, better believe that it's Uraraka stealing a kiss from him in the morning rather than him. Kirishima was intoxicated, but he had enough sense to try to escape. Yet, Bakugou's arm moved and pushed their faces closer together, effectively trapping the redhead in his embrace.

Oh no. Never mind that it felt like all he ever wanted. Never mind that the possessive grip of his strong fingers at the back of his head awakened so many euphoric feelings in Kirishima's chest. Never mind that it felt like he could die happy in his arms if he were to die the next moment, which was a real possibility.

"C'mere. Closer."

It was all wrong. All fucking wrong. Bakugou pulled him down, causing him to lie down next to him on the bed, and continued to torment his mouth with is, teeth clacking and tongue exploring and pulse throbbing wildly.

Kirishima didn't have the energy to push him away. He didn't have the desire either. But it was wrong, he was tricking Bakugou, he was…

"Fucking Shitty Hair, relax already. Don't you want me?"

Kirishima jolted so violently that it should have woken a normal person up. But the sentence ended there, and both of them stopped moving at the same time. Bakugou's gruff voice died down. He felt the grip at the back of his head loosen, until it was only hanging precariously by a few strands against his lazily flexed fingers.

"Bakugou?" Kirishima asked, his heart stopping in its tracks.

But Bakugou had his eyes closed again. The hand that held the back of his head fell on the comforters with a dull sound. His eyes remained stubbornly closed, making Kirishima wonder if he was even awake in the first place. His chest rose and fell rhythmically once more.

The silence that followed was deafening. Heat was engulfing his face in small puffs. Kirishima wasn't sure if he was breathing correctly, or if he remembered how. He heard careful footsteps behind him, and felt soft fingers over his shoulder.

"Here." Heat radiated from cup of coffee that was suddenly under his nose.

Uraraka smiled at him, almost proudly, as she held out the cup stubbornly under his face, as if it was an offering of peace. Or perhaps a reward for a job well done. "I'm sorry for keeping you up last night. I'll try not to be so loud next time."

Still without the mental faculties to give a proper response, Kirishima dumbly took the cup from her hands. "I think-" he began, not really knowing what to do with the coffee, or the tingling sensation on his mouth, or the girl staring up at him in curiosity, "I think I have to go…"

Pointedly avoiding the hazelnut girl's eyes, he turned away without uttering a single word. He reached the door and touched the doorknob, and only then noticed how fast his useless heart was beating against his chest.

When he turned to look at Uraraka, she sat next to the bed and stroked Bakugou's hair fondly. It was __wrong__ how they looked good together. But the way she smiled at him then, expectant and knowing and __teasing,__ well. He really didn't know what to do about that.

A strange new excitement welled up within him. But that morning, Kirishima didn't want to recognize it yet. He went out of the room and tried to calm down.

* * *

 **AN:** Waaah. I'm not entirely happy with this but I do like the three of them orz I might revisit this story in the future but I'm tired haha. I do love the three of them and I just want them to be happy but this is a little twisted the way it is right? lololol

I've decided to publish the Tsuyu-centric chapter that was supposed to come next, next week because it's not turning out the way I like. I hope you stick around to read it.

As always, thank you for your kind comments and kudos and in general just reading my lil sad stories. To the kind Guest who leaves me anonymous reviews (and leaving me with no other way to reply, lol), I love you. I'll write a TetsuKendo fic one day in your honor. *bows*

Last update next week: Tsuyu-chan, a lil bit of Shouji-kun, and TodoDeku getting their shit together. Look forward to it!


	15. You're The One I Love

**Yes**

Chapter 15: You're The One I Love

* * *

The crisp autumn air surrounded the UA campus in a chill that made Asui Tsuyu more somnolent than usual. She stuffed her hands in her pockets and shrunk herself within her coat until her flat nose was buried under the soft, warm cloth of her scarf. It was a struggle these days to remain alert, and she had to strategize how to make it through her winter classes. Even though she looked into the future with a sense of calm, it didn't stop her from dreading the cold all the same.

Next to her, Shouji Mezo regarded her with worry. "Asui, are you feeling alright?" he asked politely.

Unlike her, her towering classmate had no need of coats, or much of anything but his school uniform, which remained sleeveless despite the weather. She nodded her head and tried to look up at him reassuringly. "I'm okay, _ribbit._ It's a little cold, but I think I can stay awake until bedtime. And please, call me Tsuyu-chan…"

She trailed off when she felt another layer of clothing gently wrap around her neck. Shouji had used two of his arms to remove the scarf around his neck, (the only other thing he had on to protect himself from the cold) and to bundle it around the shorter girl. When she croaked out a sound of protest, he shook his head. "You need it more than I," he said simply.

"Even so, Shouji-chan, you don't have anything else, _ribbit._ "

"I have no need of it. I am strong against the cold." He said this without any hint of braggadocio. He didn't even shiver when a soft breeze blew past them.

"... all right." She felt traces of his body warmth against the cloth. She wondered if she was still pale against the cold.

An awkward silence filled the space between them, along with the falling of leaves. Shouji cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. One of his appendages formed into a mouth and opened bashfully. "You don't have to give me an answer right now, Asui… I mean, Tsuyu-chan. And honestly, I'm ready to accept any answer you give me. I just needed to express my admiration for you somehow. I felt that I had nothing to lose."

Tsuyu-chan prided herself on being level-headed most days. Despite that, she felt easily embarrassed when it came to things like this. She croaked out bashfully again and stammered out, "I'll… I'll think about it seriously, _ribbit."_

He was a simple guy, without any outward outlandish desires. Which was why his confession came as a shock to her. Nevertheless, in response to her confusion, all he did was nod politely. "I'll see you later at the dormitories."

He turned around with the wave of three right limbs, and Tsuyu-chan numbly waved back. When she was sure that he was out of earshot, she let a sigh escape her mouth.

 _… what am I going to do?_ She asked herself. Now that there was nobody there to see, confusion swirled inside her guts relentlessly.

Shouji Mezo is a good person, with nice strong arms and a good, logical head above his shoulders. He seemed to know how to take care of people. During the time they were all working for their provisional hero licenses, he'd been there for Tsuyu-chan. She didn't remember much of what happened when their opponents locked them in the cold room, just that when she came to, she was looking up at him from an improvised cradle made of his limbs, safe from harm.

She felt her face warm up at the memory of it. It was unfair that she was like this. Why did he have to be such a good person? Why did they have to be friends? Why did it seem unfair to not accept his feelings, when that was how she really felt when they spoke?

Why now, just when she was sure that she needed to be there for-

She cut off that train of thought. Shouji was nice enough to give her time to think, to tell her comforting things in the midst of her confusion.

She didn't have to rush things. She could wait it out. Again.

She didn't know how it happened, but her feet automatically took her to one of her favorite secret places in UA-a fish pond at the middle of the campus park, meant as a meditation spot for stressed out students. It was a cold afternoon of a Friday after a hard week of training, and nobody was around. Water lilies floated peacefully upon clear water, and orange-and-white koi swam lazily underneath the surface.

For a time, there was only her, the breeze among the trees, the occasional splash of water in the pond in front of her. The skies were grey and muted blues and oranges as the sun set behind the shadows of the forest. Anxiety crept in sneakily in her heart, as her thoughts naturally drifted off to the reason why she lost sleep recently.

Well, at least the cold helped her solve this problem. She felt the vestiges of somnolence creep to the corners of her round eyes. It should be time to go home. Thinking did absolutely nothing for her.

She paused when she heard indistinct murmuring behind her. The irregular cadence and the mumbling voice could only come from one living being in the entirety of UA.

She croaked as she approached Midoriya Izuku, who, for one reason or another, was wandering around the park by himself and mumbling incoherently. His things were piled up on a bench facing away from the pond. His eyes were focused on a number of open notebooks in front of him, his hand deliriously moving across the page as he wrote one character after another.

She tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump in his seat. He was so startled that his pencil flew five feet in the air. Tsuyu-chan caught this with her tongue.

"Midoriya-chan, what are you doing out here by yourself?" she croaked. She extended her tongue to him and dropped the pencil into his stunned palm.

"Oh, Asu-I mean, Tsuyu-chan! I… I was just updating my notes… I didn't want to disturb anyone in the library and I didn't feel like going home yet since I might disturb everyone at home too so I ended up wandering around by myself and I found this bench and I didn't think anyone was around, and I'm sorry, were you here the entire time, Asu-Tsuyu-chan? 'Cause I didn't mean to be rude, I didn't notice you if you were hanging out nearby-"

She cut his rambling off with a concerned _ribbit._ Midoriya-chan was usually frantic and anxious, especially around girls, but today was a different level. He rambled without inhaling once in between, and Tsuyu-chan could have sworn his face was turning blue. It seemed like he stopped talking without truly being conscious of it, as his eyes darted right to left, finding the next words to say.

"Midoriya-chan, take a deep breath, okay?" She put a webbed hand over one of his. She felt how cold and tremulous it was, how the cold brought about a greyish hue over his bare skin. She trained her dark round eyes on his, which remained out of focus. "You don't look well, _ribbit._ Do you want me to take you home?"

"Oh-no, no, I'm j-just a little cold. I'm fine. I just-" He stammered as he usually did, but the usual lively blush that rose under his freckles was conspicuously absent. "I just, want t-to finish my notes, without being a bother…"

"You're not a bother, _ribbit,_ and I'm more worried about you freezing to death…"

"No, I just-"

 _What a stubborn kid, ribbit_. Tsuyu croaked with equal parts endearment and exasperation, and reached out for the fabric around her neck. Hesitantly, she paused as her fingers touched the azure cloth that Shouji-chan wrapped around her, before she burrowed underneath for her own striped emerald scarf underneath. She pulled it off her awkwardly and wrapped it around the boy's neck.

A dusting of pink lightly made its way on his cheeks. At least blushing made him look a little closer to normal. "Y-you're wearing two scarves, Asu-Tsuyu-chan?" he asked incredulously amidst his embarrassment.

"I… get sleepy when it's cold, _ribbit…_ " she said weakly, even as her face began to grow warmer.

"Okay… that one's really big, isn't it?"

She was just about to burrow her face beneath the yards and yards of warm cloth when Midoriya said it. Again she was reminded of the owner of the scarf, and somehow smelled traces of him in it.

She felt embarrassed, that was a given. At the same time, though, there's something else creeping in the back of her mind as her cheek touched the fabric. Why did the simple act of wearing Shouji-chan's scarf make her feel so… guilty?

"Oh-I didn't mean anything bad-it looks good on you," she heard the freckled boy stammer. It looked like she started to croak pensively without realizing.

She had to say something before they get trapped in a green-haired cycle of shame. She turned her attention to his notebook instead. "You looked like you were working hard on your hero notebooks again, _ribbit._ "

He seemed to brighten up considerably as she said it. "Yes, you wanna see?"

She nodded, and he instantly had his notebook out in a flash. Flipping through the pages, Tsuyu-chan appreciated the small, messy handwriting and sketches upon sketches of many heroes (pros and students alike), going way past the margins of each page. The sheets were deformed and well-used from the weight of Midoriya's pencil. "I think everyone's doing super good this week… I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. Here, I'll show you your page, Tsuyu-chan!"

The light was back in his emerald eyes as he opened her page. It showed a rough sketch of her costume, a list of her attacks, and even a list of traits that he thought he liked about her.

Seeing an illustration of her, smiling and lively and confident in her costume, brought a smile on Tsuyu's face. To her relief, rambling about something he knew very well seemed to calm him down. Later on, the girl asked to see their friends' pages too, and Midoriya seemed grateful to oblige.

They talked about Iida-chan's new armor for five beautiful calm minutes. Among the five of them in their group (plus-minus Aoyama-chan), it was probably the presence of their steadfast class president who calmed them down and kept them together. Just the simple act of talking about him made Tsuyu's shoulders feel less heavy, and helped brighten up Midoriya's features.

"That's cool, _ribbit._ Mei-chan outdid herself with the new metal alloy on his legs," she said, even though she wasn't sure how it really helped.

"You should have seen the process of making it… although it looked like Iida-kun doesn't want to talk about it ever again," the freckled boy said with a giggle. "Hey, I have Uraraka-san on the next page, do you want to see?"

She wasn't going to protest, but just hearing her name out of nowhere made her heart stop. Midoriya thankfully didn't notice, and without missing a beat, his enthusiastic rambles filled the air between them.

"You know, Uraraka-san's got so many special moves I don't think they're gonna fit in my notebook!" He boasted about her so brightly, it was almost ironic. "She has a lot of technical hand-to-hand combos, ah, I wish I could show you videos just to prove to you how she's grown super fast… I never thought she'd go this route, but maybe it's 'cos she's working so hard to perfect Gunhead Martial Arts…"

Tsuyu-chan suppressed a sigh. Midoriya-chan's really clueless when it came to Ochako-chan, wasn't he? Hasn't he realized by now that it was because of _him_ that Ochako worked so hard in the first place? That because _he_ didn't see her devotion for him, she sought out someone else who saw her hard work? Who made sure that she became stronger and stronger without him? Who made sure that she didn't need him anymore and gave her no reason to look back?

(Never mind that along the way, Ochako-chan seemed to stop needing _her,_ too. If only she was there for her, if only she gathered her resolve to spend time with her instead of waiting in the sidelines… then maybe…)

 _Ochako-chan_ … she tried so hard not to think about her, and here was Midoriya, shoving her likeness right in her face. Being the one who bore brunt of all of Ochako-chan's heartbreak over him at the start, the frog-girl couldn't help but feel a little offended over it.

There was a short moment of silence as Midoriya's ramble came to a complete stop. "Why are you looking at me like that, Tsuyu-chan?"

"Nothing, _ribbit._ " Tsuyu-chan's mouth was always curved upward in a blank smile, so she wasn't sure why her chagrin was suddenly obvious to him. She gestured back to his notebook and tried to erase all negative thoughts. "Do you have your own page there, Midoriya-chan?"

He bit his lip bashfully, adorably. It was one of Tsuyu-chan's favorite expressions, and suddenly the heaviness disappeared. Midoriya-chan was charming, after all, if not painfully dense. "It's no good, hehe… I mean, it's just me thinking about my moves in my head, so I'm sure it might seem different…"

As he flipped through the pages, the notebook flopped open at a creased portion. Most of it is a sketch and a few incoherent scrawls, and angry slashes of lead. Half of it was unnervingly blank.

Somehow, looking at this page petrified the freckled boy for a few stunned moments. Tsuyu was able to see the header of the page- _Todoroki Shouto [Hero Name: Shouto]_ , it read-and it was suddenly awfully clear to her why he froze.

She croaked reassuringly at him. "You okay, Midoriya-chan?"

"... yeah." He shook his head and snapped out of a momentary stupour. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I blanked out… um, it's fine, it's just a work in progress… Actually… it's messy, isn't it, I should tear it out-"

It was frightening, the way his features darkened, the way his breath caught in his throat, the way his hands started to shake. She placed two hands over his, and it was enough to make him let go of the page.

"Midoriya-chan? _Are you okay_?"

"I… I'm okay," he lied. It was so obviously a lie. His eyes began to water the moment Tsuyu-chan opened her mouth.

The girl exhaled quietly. Not letting go of his hands, she pulled the notebook from his anxious grasp, pushed his things to the side of the bench, and forced him to sit down. His breathing was a little too fast, his skin a little too pale, even with Tsuyu's scarf around his neck. She sat down next to him and stared right into his eyes.

"Midoriya-chan… why are you so upset over Todoroki-chan, _ribbit?"_

Often, being straightforward wasn't a problem to Tsuyu. It's usually the most logical way to go about things, after all. But seeing the uncharacteristic, quiet way that tears flowed from Midoriya's eyes (different from his emotional wails when he watches sad movies or happy movies or horror movies or when he feels any strong emotion, in general) made her wonder if she should have been less blunt.

"I… I don't know, Tsuyu-chan…" He said weakly. He looked down on his scarred hands that clasped each other anxiously underneath her grasp. "It's not like we fought or anything. It… it shouldn't matter so much, but…"

" _Kero,_ " she croaked softly, gripping his tired hands a little tighter. "I'm not sure I understand what you're going through, Midoriya-chan, but whatever it is, it's okay for you to feel that way, _ribbit."_

He shook his head. "No… No, it's not. It's unfair-I mean, I'm unfair… it's not the best time to be honest, and I just went on and blurted out… useless things, and he's in p-pain, and… He doesn't-doesn't deserve…" His hands made their way to his hair to grasp them, perhaps in an effort to clear his head. His eyes remained damp and glassy.

He continued to murmur things under his breath. The despair in his eyes grew and grew. It was painful for Tsuyu to watch.

He said something about 'blurting out useless things'; Tsuyu wordlessly concluded that somewhere along the way, Midoriya-chan had finally confessed his not-so-hidden feelings for Todoroki-chan. "Do you regret it?"

Confessing-it was an act that she'd never have enough courage to do for anyone, ever, and it was the first question that went out of her mouth. Midoriya stopped murmuring and for a moment, stared at the air in front of him in a stunned sort of way.

"Regret what?"

"Telling him the truth, _ribbit._ " Her voice came out dolefully, carefully. Like careful steps around a dying bird on the ground, knowing full well what will happen to it next.

He stared at her quietly, eyes thoughtful and quiet. They glimmered under the waning brightness of the sky, and she surmised he was remembering, in vivid detail, the moment between him and Todoroki. The clothes he wore, the way the sky looked, the way his voice stuttered as he confessed.

He exhaled wistfully. "No… to be honest, no. I don't regret it." Another beat of thoughtful silence. "Even though it hurts… I don't think I'll ever regret telling him how I feel, Tsuyu-chan."

 _"Ribbit._ That's good." She leaned back and stared at the sky, as he started to do next to her. "I'm sorry it happened to you like that, Midoriya-chan. But you did the right thing. I… I'm not as brave, or as honest as you, _ribbit."_

Staying quiet brought her more regrets than she ever thought. How far away she was that night she fought by her side, her hand in hers, walking in the woods, just the two of them? Midoriya, as dense and chaotic as he was sometimes, at least had the courage to be true to himself.

"Tsuyu-chan?" Midoriya was suddenly staring at her then, green eyes focusing on her own. "Are you… okay?"

" _Ribbit?_ " She reached for her face and felt something wet. "What's this, _ribbit-_ "

"Oh no, Asu-Tsuyu-chan! D-don't w-worry, I always have tissues in m-my bag-" He rummaged through his bag in a frenzy. Another drop made its way down her cheek. And another. And another-

" _... Ribbit,_ " she croaked uneasily, holding her hand out. She didn't know when it happened, but the skies were suddenly greyer and heavier. Rain fell in modest drops around them, and then all at once, pelting her face and clothes and bare skin in cold pellets.

"Oh no… they didn't say it was going to rain today," worried Midoriya. He shrugged his blazer off of him and placed this on Tsuyu's head. "It's getting colder, Tsuyu-chan. I have to get you home before-"

The awareness of the dropping ambient temperature hit her like a sucker punch. Suddenly her eyes won't stay open, and her body was much too heavy to keep walking. Midoriya-chan was a green blur in front of her, holding onto her unsteady frame with two cold, scarred hands.

"You don't have to move," she heard him say, although it was increasingly getting more difficult to be aware of her surroundings. She felt the ground from under her feet disappear, and it took her a moment before she realized she was being carried.

They moved forward, quickly at first, before Midoriya realized that the ground was muddy and slippery. The rain came down so hard that when she tried to force her eyes open, all she was able to see is white and grey, and the darkening green of the boy's head. She felt water pooling on her stomach, felt it soaking every part of her as if she was submerged in it. The wind blew, carrying with it a biting chill that dragged her out of consciousness.

"S… sorry… Midoriya-chan," she mumbled, already half-asleep. She heard him say something in return, but it was hard to understand.

"... roki-kun? How did you…"

She wasn't sure if it was Midoriya's voice being distorted by the relentless rain, or it was someone else completely different. The voice came out as an indistinct muttering that barely made it to her ears.

"... fire's useless in the rain... help you carry Asui back to the dorm. Stay here next to me-"

"No, I… I c-can d-do it… l-let's go h-home, Todoroki-kun…"

Breath came out in thick mists before her eyes, and any last shred of strength she had to keep them open floated away.

She succumbed to a quiet hibernation soon after.

* * *

She didn't know when she woke up for real. Her dreams were jumbled images of her and Midoriya drowning in a cold, unforgiving sea; of the weight and lightness of Ochako's hand in hers, and her chasing after the ghost of it; of the grey sky, pregnant with all her apprehensions and fears; Ochako's pink-padded fingertips, tracing her face; Shouji's masked face looking down at her with worry.

Her eyes fluttered open, and it took a few moments to realize that she was staring at a familiar ceiling, and that she was lying on a bed with lily-pad sheets. Someone had her dried and dressed in her soft, clean, mint-green pajamas. The surrounding temperature was neither too hot nor too cold.

 _"Ribbit…?_ " She sat up in a hurry, and instantly felt light headed. Her hand went down on the bed in an attempt to steady herself-

-and landed neatly on a hand that lay there quietly.

Tsuyu's gaze fell on the chestnut-haired figure that snored softly at her bedside, with her head down on her comforters. Pink-padded fingers instinctively curled around her oversized clammy ones and grasped them tightly.

The frog-girl smiled. Even in her sleep, Ochako somehow kept her pinky up to avoid activating her quirk. A soft, contented croak escaped from her throat as she felt her warmth.

Maybe she gripped her hand a little harder than she intended, but in a few moments, Ochako began to stir. Her head slowly moved up, until her bleary brown eyes met her dark, round ones. Seeing that she was up, she forced herself to wake up a little further, wiped a line of drool from her mouth. "Tsuyu-chan? You're okay…"

"Yes… I think so, _ribbit._ " She let go of that intoxicatingly soft hand of hers and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Ochako-chan, I…"

The smell of her cherry blossom shampoo invaded her senses as her nose was buried in the other girl's hair in the next moment. "Tsuyu-chan! Oh my gosh, you _should_ be sorry, I was so scared, you looked like you were in a coma-"

" _Ribbit~"_ Ochako's hands were running down her back. She was so warm, so bright, and smelled so good. She was the complete opposite of the typhoon still rampaging the world outside. Tsuyu reveled in the softness of her fingerpads, her hair, her entire being. "I'm really sorry, _ribbit…_ I barely remember anything that happened. I don't even know how I got here…"

The embrace lasted for a few sweet moments, and when Ochako let go, the absence of her warmth was unsettling. "Oh, yeah, Yaomomo told us that there would probably be blanks in your memory 'cause you went into hibernation mode. What's the last thing you remember?"

Tsuyu creased her brows in concentration. "I was talking with Midoriya-chan in the park, and then the rain fell… and then everything's blank."

Ochako blinked at her, her mouth a perfect 'o'. "So… you don't remember seeing Todoroki-kun there?"

Tsuyu shook her head. "Why would Todoroki-chan be there? Midoriya-chan and I just met by chance there…"

"Well… they announced that the storm was coming pretty late. Seems like it's not entirely natural, so they didn't have time to make a proper announcement earlier. When UA advised everyone to stay in the dorms, Todoroki-kun noticed that… that Deku-kun wasn't anywhere nearby, so…"

Tsuyu watched Ochako's face with interest. When before, just talking about whatever it was that was going on between their two close friends made her sink into an obvious despondence, now she was even able to manage an awkward laugh. "… you know how it is, Tsuyu-chan. They just have a built-in radar for each other, I guess? He ran out to look for you guys in a flash."

Was Ochako-chan changing so fast? Her back was straight, her eyes only showing a shadow of the familiar painful longing when Midoriya-chan's name slips from her mouth. And yet the shadow remains there. Tsuyu-chan wondered if she would be able to get over the green-haired boy, ever.

She felt that longing reflected in her own eyes. She wished that the rain had washed it off of her, too. "Hey, Tsuyu-chan, don't look at me like that, please? I'm fine. I promise." Ochako gave her an awkward smile on top of another awkward giggle. "It doesn't bother me as much anymore… I know I haven't whined to you about Deku-kun for some time now, so… isn't that a good sign?"

Tsuyu only croaked questioningly in response. She didn't even know how her face looked then, but she didn't change the way she looked at her. The girl waved her hands awkwardly and begged of her to change the subject. "So… you know, Tsuyu-chan… Shouji-kun looked especially worried for you back there."

Tsuyu felt her face warm up in the next second. Ochako had a little victory grin on her mouth the next moment. "Oh, have you been holding back on me, Tsuyu-chan? Is there something going on between the two of you?! How did I not know?! This hurts, I thought you were my best friend!"

"N-no, Ochako-chan, _ribbit,_ that's not-"

"But you were wearing his scarf and everything! Don't deny it, Tsuyu-chan, I noticed he was wearing it in the morning and then you were wearing it in the afternoon, so-"

Inexplicably, Ochako stopped her excited patter. Her eyes shone in concern the next moment. "Um… Tsuyu-chan? What's wrong?"

Somehow, Tsuyu already had both of Ochako's hands in her own. She was squeezing them and releasing them and capturing their warmth within her cold hands, hoping that they seep through. Maybe that's why the girl stopped talking so suddenly.

She looked up at the girl, looked at her brown skin and pink cheeks and shimmering chestnut eyes. Her heart throbbed, as if warm blood rushed and throbbed within.

Yes… maybe it wasn't the right time for it. Her head's dizzy with fever, her hands cold, her heart in turmoil. But Midoriya-chan had courage, and had no regrets. And Tsuyu-chan was sick of staying quiet, was sick of having regrets. She shouldn't have any, too.

She took a deep breath, mentally clasped something in her heart, and closed her eyes. "I like Shouji-chan… but not in that way."

She summoned all the courage in her heart, and looked at the beautiful, confused Uraraka Ochako right in the eyes. "There's… something I have to tell you, Ochako-chan."

* * *

 **AN:**

Hi! Sorry that this update is a week late. Things happened IRL, and it's just really hard for me to get into Tsuyu-chan's head for some reason. I hope that she seemed in-character! And I had to insert Shouji here, my six-armed gentleman, because I really have tons of respect for him and the way he carried Tsuyu-chan in the Provisional License Exam arc is just so precious ughhhhh

Up next: Todoroki takes care of Deku. (it's the last one!)


	16. You Hurt Me

**Yes**

Chapter 16: You Hurt Me

* * *

The rain falls like bullets from the sky. In front of him, Midoriya's teeth chatters from the cold, yet he tries his hardest to look determined. Breath comes out in mists that fog Asui's face.

Anxiety hangs between the two of them, and in front of the sleeping girl in Midoriya's arms. Shouto isn't sure if it was just the nature of her quirk, or if the girl is in actual danger. She is practically in a coma by this time-not even shivering or stirring as the raindrops fell on her body. Her skin is paper-white; he remembers how cold her entire body was when he touched her skin with his left hand, in a poor attempt to warm her and wake her up.

In strong autumn rains like this, his left side becomes useless. He is barely able to regulate his own body temperature as they trudge under the rain with no umbrella. It is a struggle to keep upright with the wind on their faces and wet concrete and mud under their feet, and the green-haired boy has his head down under a soggy green scarf in an attempt to keep warm. All he is able to do is to hold on to Midoriya with his left hand, keep his eyes open, and lead the way.

"We're almost there," he calls out through the merciless torrents that flood their ears. Midoriya can only chatter in response.

He holds onto the crook of the boy's arm a little tighter, hoping that the paltry heat seeps through the soaked cloth and flesh.

The walk feels like it lasted hundred years before they finally see the Heights Alliance complexes. Shouto doesn't remember the last time he felt so relieved seeing the lights and shadows of activity within their shared home.

He pushes the door with a shaking, pale right hand. Warmth seeps from the crack in the door momentarily before all its comfort is pushed by a strong gust of wind. He pulls Midoriya through the threshold before his body completely freezes too much to move.

From within the common area, Kirishima is able to see their clumsy entrance immediately. The redhead starts yelling and waving his arms around, "Guys, Tsuyu-chan and DekuRoki need help!"

Shouto doesn't have time to cringe at _DekuRoki._ He spends the next moment applying his quirk on himself. Steam rises to the ceiling, and within seconds he is warm and dry. Right before he collapses to the floor in a heap, Midoriya is able to hand Asui off to Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, and Shouji, who rush to their sides.

"She's so cold…" He hears Uraraka whisper apprehensively. Pink padded fingers touch the green-haired girl's skin carefully. They peel Asui's oversized scarf and coat off of her, and Shouji has her practically swaddled in a sweater he is wearing moments ago. He carries her like a baby in his arms.

She's asleep, but Shouto is sure that she is safe the moment Yaoyorozu leans in close to her and begins her initial assessment. So instead of fussing over her, Shouto kneels next to Midoriya, who is struggling to sit up.

"Asu-Tsuyu-ch-chan… is-is she g-going t-to b-be okay?" The freckled boy's teeth are chattering so hard that Shouto has to lean in close to hear him. "W-we n-need to w-warm h-her up s-soon, T-Todorok-ki-kun, d-don't worry b-bout me-"

Shouto gently places a hand over Midoriya's chest. The shirt underneath his blazer is thoroughly soaked. He is able to see the pallour of his skin dissipate as steam rose from under his warm hand. "The others are taking care of her, Midoriya. Stay there," he says, pushing him down gently when the boy struggles to stand up.

"B-But…" The flush from the heat of his palm spreads from the skin of Midoriya's chest, to the skin of his neck, to his face. The boy has freckles all over, blooming like stars over reddening skin. It is probably the first time that Shouto is close enough to see them.

"Midoriya-kun, don't worry, we're taking care of her." By this time, Yaoyorozu has produced a thermometer and a warm compress from the flesh of her arm, and has placed this over the frog girl's forehead. Everyone's eyes are on her; she returns a decisive, strong glance at all of them. "Tsuyu-chan is cold-blooded, after all. If we warm her up imprecisely, it might do her more harm than good."

Everyone seems to calm down as she speaks. "I'll leave her to you, Yaoyorozu." It is precisely this fortitude that Shouto saw from the very beginning. He knows he can trust Yaoyorozu with anything.

"Of course, Todoroki-san. I'll leave Midoriya-kun to you." The girl nods at him. A modest smile is on her face, the glint in her eyes never leaving. Somehow, this small action causes a weight to lift itself from off his shoulders.

Yaoyorozu's changed. She remains strong, and confident, and decisive. Shouto never stopped trusting her, and it is suddenly clear that she trusts in him just as much, even after seeing him for the way the chaotic mess that he truly was.

They break eye contact, each tending to their own green-haired classmate. Behind him, he hears Asui croak herself back to consciousness. "Uraraka-chan? Sh-shouji-chan? This is embarrassing…"

"Don't worry about it," the taller boy tells her, though his eyes remain hooded in concern. "Let's bring her to her room, Yaoyorozu-san and Uraraka-san."

It's good that Yaoyorozu understood her biology immediately. Apart from Recovery Girl, who is in a housing farther off, nobody else will be able to manage Asui's case well. She gives a reassuring glance and a thumbs-up at the worried green-haired boy on the floor. "She's okay, Midoriya-san. Don't worry about her."

"Okay…" The freckled boy sighs from his spot on the floor. By this time, his clothes and his hair are dry, but he remains a tired heap on the floor. His eyes are misty, and he pushes a great effort to keep them open. "I'm… I'm a little woozy…"

Shouto feels his face contort with worry. Before he is able to move, in the next moment, Kirishima is already on the floor next to him, and places a large hand over the smaller boy's forehead. Another one is over his head for comparison. "He's suddenly hot, Todoroki. I'm not sure if it's your quirk or if it's a fever."

Shouto knits his brows in thought. Midoriya's shivering on the floor with his face and neck beet-red from heat. "... I wouldn't be surprised if it's a fever. They were out in the rain for a long time."

The redhead scratches his head and mumbles something about how Midoriya always seems to get in trouble and how his freckled butt should probably start living in the infirmary at this point. Shouto allows an amused smile to form at that remark. "I guess that can't be helped. We should probably bring him to his room and-uh…"

Shouto stares back at Kirishima, who is suddenly staring at him incredulously. "What's wrong?"

"W-well…" The redhead starts to stammer in embarrassment at Shouto, who has unquestioningly lifted the green-haired boy in his arms, with one hand under his knees and the other at the small of his back. "I can help you carry Midoriya, you know, if he's too heavy… but that's okay too… I guess."

"It's no trouble." Midoriya _is_ heavier than he looks, likely due to the sheer mass of muscle that he's built up from training for so long, but it is nothing that Shouto couldn't handle. He supposes that Kirishima's embarrassed because of the way that the freckled boy's head settled at the crook of the taller boy's neck, and the way he started gripping the front of his shirt, and the way his breath started tickling the skin of his neck…

No, he thinks. It isn't embarrassing at all. It is something Shouto simply needs to do, and Kirishima should just stop convincing him that it is embarrassing, lest his cheeks start to redden too. He turns around and says neutrally, "Let's go to his room and change his clothes."

"Okay." A crocodilian grin makes its way on the redhead's mouth, but he helps out Shouto all the same.

It is a struggle, but the two of them manage to peel off the dried, dirty clothes, caked with mud, off of Midoriya's body. Shouto produces a damp washcloth and begins wiping his skin free of the streaks of mud that marred tanned skin. The boy's body is heavy with exhaustion, but he tries his best to cooperate, through incoherent moans and mumbles, even as he drifts in and out of consciousness.

(Again, he finds himself counting all the freckles on his skin. They are all over his chest, shoulders, back, even the skin of his arms… there must be thousands of them, all over his body, thousands of them hiding from Shouto, thousands of constellations waiting to be named and traced.)

"Man, I knew Midoriya was a die-hard All Might fanboy, but he's on a whole different level… I had to dig through a lot of figurines and merch to get to these clothes." Instantly, Shouto's odd train of thought is derailed. Kirishima drops a pile of clothes next to him on the bed-one of his funny shirts (with ' _Dress Shirt_ ' written on it in katakana) and a pair of All Might pajama bottoms. As the three of them struggle with clothing once more, Shouto finds himself saying goodbye to those hypnotizing freckles.

He looks at the green-haired boy's face, red and damp with sweat. As his mismatched eyes wander over the freckes over the bridge of his nose, Midoriya gives off a contented sigh. Green eyes struggled to open, but only one succeeded to open a crack. "Thanks… guys… I'm so embarrassed, but… you really helped me out…" His usually bright voice comes out as a croak, not unlike Asui's usual voice.

Shouto's skin is really sensitive to temperatures, and just then he feels Midoriya's breath come out in abnormally warm puffs. The fever's coming in fast, he surmised. He silently places a cold hand over his forehead.

"Hey man, no problem. This typhoon just came outta nowhere. I heard everyone's stranded. I'm just glad Todoroki found you guys where you were," says Kirishima from behind him. If he is fazed from Shouto's sudden intimate movement, he doesn't let it show this time. "So… I guess you're the cold pack, Doctoroki? I was gonna ask Yaomomo for one, but…"

He is only a little annoyed at the new nickname, and it is mainly because it earned them a hearty chuckle from their weak patient. "Yeah. Let's not overuse her quirk in this typhoon."

"Okay, doc. You know best." Kirishima stands up purposefully. "Let me know if you guys need anything, all right? I know the Prez is working on it, but now I feel like checking if everybody else is okay, ya know?"

He nods at him appreciatively. Kirishima is many things, but among them he is a good man. He has proven this time and again in class, countless times after their collaboration to rescue Bakugou. But while Kirishima is one of those rare persons whom Shouto can trust with his life, he doesn't know what to do about the knowing smile on his face as he closes the door behind him.

A silence falls over the room, and Shouto faces the sleeping Izuku alone. Quiet breathing fills the room and calms him down.

* * *

The rain continues to fall outside. Shouto feels an odd comfort listening to the disconcerting whistling of the winds outside, along with the drumming of the storm against the windows, as he stays in his designated spot next to Midoriya's bed.

Kirishima had come in with a bowl of chicken porridge that he claims Bakugou made for the entire dormitory. Apparently, the hot-headed blonde has a talent for cooking, and someone has goaded him into making something warm for the sick kids, and it smelled so good that someone goaded him further into making it for everyone.

It isn't the standard _okayu_ that Shouto is expecting. The smell of garlic and ginger overwhelms his senses, and unexpectedly makes his mouth water. But as overwhelmed as his taste buds are for the food that Kirishima offered them, it barely does anything for the sick Midoriya.

He gently shakes the green-haired boy awake and places the bowl under his nose. The boy tries really hard to sit up, and tries really hard to swallow the spoonfuls of food that Shouto patiently pushes into his mouth, but he is only able to manage about five bites of it before he tells him weakly that he'll eat later, after he rested.

And so the bowls of porridge lay cold and uneaten at the bedside. Losing his own appetite rather quickly, Shouto has nothing to do but to stare at Midoriya. The other boy has somehow curled up against his cold right hand, holding his palm close to his face. "Feels… good…" he mumbles against his skin.

He knows that Midoriya is probably in the middle of a fever dream, and all of this is just delirium talking. Nevertheless, Shouto feels a foreign rush of warmth over his cheeks. He is glad that Kirishima's left the room.

Even though it isn't entirely unpleasant for the boy to snuggle against his hand, Shouto could only hold his arm out at that awkward angle for so long. "Hey, Midoriya," he says softly, when the tingling sensations became a tad too much. "I need my hand back just a second, okay? My arm's falling asleep."

A grumbling noise escapes from the green-haired boy's mouth. Without warning, a vibration hums throughout Shouto's body. "Just a second?"

"Yeah. Just a second."

The boy doesn't move.

"Mmhm." A coarse hum escaped from the boy's throat. Again, another confusing sensation made its way through Shouto. "Don't go. Please? Stay here."

Despite himself, Shouto feels the corners of his mouth go upward. Midoriya's a close friend, true, but one who usually couldn't handle physical closeness. While their day at the beach is an exception, Midoriya always carries with him a debilitating shyness that causes him to stutter himself to oblivion if anyone were to touch his arm outside of combat. This clingy version of him is an entirely amusing thing to see. "I'm not going, don't worry." The taller boy tries a reassuring tone this time, but again, the boy on the bed doesn't move.

"No." Midoriya's eyes are hooded, his cheeks warm, as he looks up at him from his blanket cocoon. Green eyes as wide as saucers, mouth hidden behind Shouto's hand, in some odd semblance of an embarrassed stubbornness. "Here. Here."

He is gesturing vaguely to the small space on his twin bed. "You… want me to lie down there?"

The boy hesitates for a few moments, but that weird stubborn streak persists, and he nods vigorously.

Shouto suppresses a bemused smile and thinks that it probably isn't a bad idea. The fever's likely peaking by that hour. The delirium's probably getting worse. He supposed normalizing his body temperature with the rest of his body wouldn't hurt.

He takes off his blazer, only realizing that he hasn't changed out of his dirtied clothes himself. He'd have liked to borrow some of Midoriya's clean clothing, but the boy just isn't letting him. Instead he opts to remove his rumpled button-down shirt and his socks, leaving him with just a white undershirt and his uniform slacks.

Midoriya is watching him remove his clothing with half-lidded, unblinking emerald eyes, without an ounce of shame or hesitation. He isn't sure, but by the time he's on the edge of the bed, the other boy's cheeks seem redder than ever before.

"Here?" Shouto asks, placing his hand tentatively on the space next to Midoriya.

"Here," the other boy whispers. He lifts his heavy body momentarily until his back is on the wall, leaving a warm space in the shape of Midoriya's body for him.

Shouto isn't used to beds. He thinks that the standard twin beds issued by Heights Alliance are too cramped and small, unlike the comfortable futon he has upstairs in his room. True enough, when he lay down next to Midoriya with his back to the bed, his foot dangles off the edge. He has to lay on his side, right where the cushions had absorbed most of the boy's fever, with his legs curled up for him not to fall.

A few moments pass, with him face-to-face with Midoriya. He stares at his green eyes, stubbornly directed downward and avoiding his own gaze. He wonders how long he has to lay there in a silence that feels like a taut string about to break.

It isn't for long. In the next moment, the boy buries his face at Shouto's right shoulder. His freckled arms snake around him possessively, with a force only slightly weakened by the cold, that pushes some air out of his lungs.

"I'm sorry for acting like a brat, Todoroki-kun…" The boy mumbles, suddenly shy again. Shouto has to strain to hear his voice muffled under the blankets.

"It's okay." Shouto wraps an arm around Midoriya too, just because it seems like the natural thing to do in this situation. He feels the boy tense somewhat, but soon his body softens. He brings their temperature down by one or two degrees with his right side. "This is the least I can do. You've helped me out many times before, Midoriya."

And it's true. The boy had literally destroyed both of his arms for him, ages ago. Since then, Midoriya's always had his back, on the field, off the field, the spaces in between. The high tone, the smile, the comforting mutterings with his head down. The curve of his brow when he once asked him what love was, on a cold autumn morning, under the stars.

The scarred hand that held his on that beach, when Shouto's head was filled with noise and instantly quieted down. He seeks out that hand once more and encloses it within his.

He is so sure that both of them are dry, but suddenly there is a dampness soaking through his shoulder. Shouto adjusts his head carefully to look at him.

Midoriya is crying. Shouto is a little concerned, but isn't surprised-the boy cries so often it might as well be another quirk. "I'm sorry," he mumbles, sniffling. "I don't know how to feel right now. My body feels like it's dying, but my heart feels so full I feel like I'll explode."

"It's just the cold virus talking, Midoriya," he replies quietly. Should hand-holding be so intimate? He doesn't do it with just anyone, but isn't it just a natural thing that you do for someone you care about, who needs it? Like Yaoyorozu, on that cold afternoon. And right now, the fevered boy next to him-

"... Izuku."

The hesitant voice that floats to his ear makes him blink. The sick boy angles his face up slightly, until green met onyx and blue. A stubborn, hazy look of determination is in his eyes.

"Izuku," he repeats. A plea, pure and simple and apparently important, if the way his other scarred hand is gripping the cloth in front of Shouto's chest. "You can call me that from now on."

He returns the gaze, experimentally opens his mouth once, as the green-haired boy watches.

"Izuku," he attempts. It comes out in a lower tone than he expects, like the sound a blazing fire makes in the hearth. A new shade of red makes it on the other boy's cheeks that radiates over his own skin.

Midoriya-no, Izuku-hides his mouth behind his own arm, an odd look in his eyes. "That's good. That's… all I want," he says, fighting to control the lilt in his voice. He fails to hide the happy crease in his tired eyes.

All wonder about intimacy disappears, because suddenly it paints the air between them. Lightness takes over his chest, something new and unexpected, as he sees his own face reflected in the other's eyes. His mouth opens again. There is barely any hesitation within the next breath. "You should… call me Shouto," he replies softly.

It is just his name, a common one he doesn't particularly like because it's his father's decision, but it feels different when he hears it in Izuku's voice, soft as feathers on clouds. "Shouto…" He turns his head down, a contented flush over his cheeks. The boy is still abnormally warm, with heat coming out of his head like steam. "Shouto… I like saying your name. It's a good name, Shouto."

"Yes. It's yours now, too." He doesn't know why he says it. Maybe he just wants to tease the boy, but he knows it's hard to deny the weight of the truth in his own words as he hears his own voice in his ears, heavy with an emotion he's never felt before.

The boy stops moving completely in the next few moments, save for the quiet rise and fall of his chest as he breathes. Shouto thinks he's finally given in to the fever and has fallen asleep already, until his hoarse voice rumbles through his smaller body again. "I still mean it, you know."

Shouto quietly looks at him, waits for him to continue. Izuku's momentarily lost in his silence, but he wills himself to, grips his hand a little tighter as he inhales to speak once more.

"The one… I told you about before." The illness makes him stumble over his words less. It's an odd little paradox that Shouto noticed from the start. "That I love you so much that I don't know what to do…"

It isn't something that he can forget easily. He isn't going to deny that the boy's confession scares him a little, because until now, Shouto doesn't know what love is. Doesn't believe that anyone will just willingly give him bits and pieces of themselves, for a broken boy like him who hates half and all of himself, in unforgiving days.

Love-isn't that what happened to his face on that day when his mother hurt him? He feels the scars under his fingertips. Remnants of pulverized bone and sliced flesh and lost blood, things that can escalate to horrifying degrees.

They both have enough scars, don't they?

"Yes," Shouto answers quietly, because he doesn't know what else to say.

"... and I feel stupid because… it's so hard…" Izuku starts shaking within his grasp. "I wish sometimes I didn't meet you… because I hurt myself when I told you my feelings the first time… and everyday, I just, I…"

He doesn't know what to do about love, up until now. And yet he's here, like an idiot, holding the hand of the boy who loves him so much he feels it in his own pulse. He doesn't know what to do. Doesn't know what else to say. Doesn't know why it matters to him and his selfish existence if this boy hurts himself because of him. Doesn't know if he should keep holding on, or if he should stand up and leave.

"It's okay. You can hate me if you want," he tells him in all honesty, even though he forgoes any plans of letting the suddenly fragile boy go. It's because he's too dumb to form a proper reply that a strong person like Izuku's broken down like this.

Glassy green eyes blink back tears. He looks down. "I'll never hate you, Shouto." He says it like a gentle reminder. "So don't say things like that."

Shouto wonders how all this began. How much both of them-all of them in the class has changed, as the world kept turning. It isn't like this before, his heart didn't beat like a drum and hurt like hell when he was around Izuku. It didn't hurt before. It didn't hurt before, when he didn't hear Izuku's voice calling out to him.

The scar on his face throbs along with his heartbeat and denies all that he thought he knew about Izuku. He isn't a stranger to hurt, and heartbreak, and fear. Being close to this boy doesn't make the pain go away, but at least… at least…

"Shouto… I've loved you for so long… I…"

At least, with Izuku, he remembers in painful, blissful clarity who he really is. He's more than ice, and fire. More than the scar on his face. More than the son of the number one hero. More than who Shouto thinks he is.

And Izuku…

He pulls the boy closer. All the heat escaping from his body, all the shivers, all the tears, he presses closer to him. Takes them for his own.

He feels a little funny, and he thinks it's the cold virus seeping through his skin too. The small voice in his head reminds him that he hasn't had a cold since the day he was born because of his quirk. Nevertheless, impulsive words form in his head, escapes from his mouth before he is able to stop them.

"… Will you… wait for me?"

Green eyes, struggling in the fever haze to open, try to look up at him again. They shimmer again with tears. "For as long as it takes…"

"Okay." He nods quietly and stares right into his eyes.

"Okay." The other boy presses his hand to his mouth and inhales deeply. He doesn't stop him.

"... okay." It comes out quietly, a heartfelt attempt at comfort that works. Izuku quiets down, and Shouto hears sounds that are only his: the sound of his fever dream; soft, even breathing, if not a little shallow. Puffs of warm breath and salt and sweat that soak his shirt. The quiet throbbing of his pulse from his freckled wrist under Shouto's right hand.

He buries his nose in green tresses and breathes in the scent of rain.

* * *

It soon becomes morning. Izuku knows this because it is the absence of the sound of rain that wakes him. A bright bar of sunlight leaks through the window and lands next to his pillow.

A dull pain manifests itself behind his eyes. He barely remembers his dreams from the night that has passed. There's unrelenting rain, a girl in his arms-no, that's probably reality, that's probably him and Tsuyu-chan, and then a blank space between then and when he makes it to his warm bed. There's lots of fire, searing heat. Blue eyes and dark eyes, whispered words that seemed important, that he should have locked inside his heart.

He still has a fever, he thinks, as his palm rubs the warm skin over his forehead. His vision is bleary. He yawns.

Someone is next to him, breathing softly.

He opens his eyes, forcing as much clarity to his senses as his illness allows.

Todoroki Shouto lies there facing him. White hair falls over his cheek, red hair crumpled under his head and over his pillow. Smooth skin, a perfect nose, a perfect mouth that's slightly opened, so close Izuku feels his breath over his own mouth. The scar he wears like a badge of honor is hidden by his own shadow. A calm he's never seen before, something different from the eye-in-the-storm type of calm that he always seemed to possess, softens his features.

Bits and pieces from the night before jumbles in his mind. He's made a fool of himself again, he's sure, and that questionable fact turns his skin beet red. How much did he say? Did he force his useless feelings on him again?

Yet the fact remains that Shouto is _there,_ close to Izuku, sleeping soundly, hand entwined around his as if there's no other place for his hand but there. The light of the sun falls gently over his skin.

His heart feels so full, he feels that he would die the next moment. If this is a fever dream, he wishes he never wakes up.

He doesn't know how long he lay there staring, but soon the boy next to him opens his eyes.

Quiet, mismatched, a little misty from slumber. They focus on green eyes, and Izuku is frightened that the dream will end, that the other boy would stand up and walk out the door and leave him in the silence.

"Hey." It comes out as a husky murmur. A ghost of a smile appears on the corners of those perfect lips. "You okay?"

Izuku smiles back at him. "Yes."

Suddenly, nothing else matters, only this moment. His mattress shifts as Shouto curls up closer to him and breathes in closer.

 _I'm okay. I love you._

"That's good."

A comforting silence envelopes them. In the new morning light, Shouto quietly closes his eyes again. He doesn't let go of Izuku's hand.

Izuku grips his hand quietly. He waits vaguely for the next sweet moment of silence. Shouto's heart beats gently in his sleep, reminding him that they are both still alive.

He goes back to sleep.

-end-

* * *

 **AN:** Wow I finished it! T_T I'll miss writing this story but I'm glad I finished it!

I hope you liked the ending. I listened to so many sad songs (Sugarfree and Mayonnaise on loop omg it's not good emotionally pls don't try it) until i got the last two chapters right!

So this is over, but thanks to this I got so many other ideas for other stories that I can write. Thank you very much for all your support!


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